Rethink of cafe at Helston’s park Coronation Gardens

However, the town council has been accused of "kicking the ball down the road" by going back to the drawing board. 

Planning permission has already been given by Cornwall Council to knock down the former Helston and District Pigeon Club building in Coronation Gardens, next to the King George V playing field, and build a cafe on the same site.

A detailed business plan was drawn up by students at Exeter University on the Tremough Campus, Penryn, although concerns were raised by residents and businesses when this was published, over lack of parking and the potential impact of taking trade from the town centre’s existing cafes.

Last month it was also revealed that the project had been unsuccessful in its funding bid to the Community Levelling Up Programme, as the panel did not feel it could be delivered within the necessary time frame, and the proposal did not have sufficient viability in its opinion.

At a meeting of Helston Town Council last week it was decided to now develop the plans further and consider whether a larger building, to include additional uses – the café being just one element of it – would be a better way forward.

Any different project would need a new application for planning permission to be approved.

Areas of concern

Projects officer Richard James began the meeting by summarising the areas of concern that he had identified and that had been raised with him by members of the public.

These included “no real viable parking” nearby to the proposed café, with Mr James saying: “I think that really curtails any café’s catchment and appeal.”

There were also issues with commercial access for deliveries and waste collection, he added.

He went on to explain: “Looking at the café in its current form and comparing it to other community cafes, there is nearly always an additional space. Community cafés need to be part of a broader complex.”

Mr James said the intention had always been for a community interest company (CIC) to run the café, adding: “For me the CIC needs to be leading on that business plan.”

He described it as “a good moment to pause” and look at the direction of the project, decide who was going to run it and ensure factors such as environmental sustainability were written into the plans.

Once this was in place they could look at new funding opportunities “so we can make sure the project is serving the community it sits in, financially and environmentally, going forwards.”

'It could still work'

Councillor Damien Willey said Mr James “raised some fantastic points that we need to consider quite deeply” – not least the vehicular access for customers and deliveries, adding: “The road access is Oliver’s Terrace and that is a swine for vehicles to get up to as it is now.”

However, he stressed: “I think it could still work. I don’t think it’s beyond the realms of possibility, but I do think the generation of a CIC needs to come first.”

Councillor Tim Grattan-Kane pointed out that setting up a new CIC to run it could cause issues when applying for funding though, as bodies liked to see a track record of success before committing money.

Councillor John Martin believed the word ‘café’ could be the issue, suggesting they “look at a community facility with more flexibility, so it’s still a focal point but not necessarily a café, which creates all sorts of difficulties with access.”

Councillor Melissa Benyon agreed that the building could be used to support volunteer groups but “doesn’t necessarily need to be running independently as a café to do that.”

'Back to the drawing board'

It was suggested by Councillor John Boase that the building might even be better on the grass the other side of the park, saying of its currently agreed position on the pigeon hut site: “You’ve got very little distance going back; there are loads of trees.

“The sunshine there is gone by 11.30am and you want to encourage people there.”

On the other side of the grass, nearer the children’s play park, he said: “You have got a lot bigger area there. You could have a bigger footprint; a bigger community building with a café.”

The area in question currently includes a multi-use games area with basketball hoops and goals, as part of a larger grassed area.

Mr Boase went on to add that “nobody is going to want to hire” the currently approved building for a function or business meeting, due to it being too small.

“I think really it needs to go back to the drawing board. I think we need to start from scratch,” he said.

Approved designs for the community cafe (right) and a new scout hut (Image: RA Design/Cornwall Council)

Councillor Benyon then asked if the orientation of the building had been considered in terms of generating its own electricity, as well as the recycling of its own water and other sustainability measures, which she said she’d like to see discussed going forwards.

Mayor Miles Kenchington said: “There seems to be a common theme running through, which is that we don’t let go of it but it’s not right – and we know it’s not right as we didn’t get any funding for it.”

It was agreed that the existing Coronation Gardens Working Group consider the future direction of the project, with continued engagement with the community, in order to make recommendations to the full council about potential ways forward within the next four months.

The mayor also said he wanted to see a town councillor who was on the working group become a “champion” for the project and report back to the council on a monthly basis.

'Kicking the ball down the road'

Melissa Ralph, a community member on the working group, said she hoped that the community research carried out so far would be retained and not forgotten, but agreed it was a "moment to take stock.”

She added that already more people were using the space, with a successful community gardening project in place, and agreed that a building with more flexibility would be “a good way to go.”

Jules Lewis, who is also on the working group, questioned the reasoning of moving the building further away from the main road when concerns over vehicular access had already been raised.

He added that he did not feel like any progress had been made that night, going on to say: “All it needs is some leadership; that’s not happening. And kicking the ball down the road is not going to help.”

Councillors Damien Willey and Paul Andrew, along with the mayor, are to join the larger working group, which will next meet on June 24 at 6pm in the Corn Exchange.