Cafe shut as Coventry park work continues

The park was opened in 1921

A cafe in a park which is being revamped has opened for the final time for several months.

A multi-million-pound project to refurbish Coventry's War Memorial Park is taking place and Cafe in the Park opened for the last time on Thursday.

Its manager, Marian Hextall, said customers were not happy that the cafe was due to be shut for months.

The council said there were catering plans during the closure and the cafe was expected to reopen in April.

'Safely carried out'

The cafe manager, who said she worked for herself but the building was owned by the authority, added the closure was "emotional" for her.

She said: "You feel sorry for the customers because it's like a little community."

Ms Hextall said she originally had to bid for the role and her time in the position had previously been extended but that when the facility reopened the role of managing it would be put out to tender.

In an earlier statement, the city council said the cafe needed to close "to allow improvement work to be safely carried out" and it was one of about 30 projects being completed in phases across the park.

The statement said: "Plans are in place for alternative catering arrangements to be offered during the period of closure, probably through a mobile unit, which is expected to open in the New Year.

"It is expected that work on the cafe will be completed in around three months and it will reopen in April 2011."