The proposed plan

People’s Park disused pavilion

What might this building become?

We want to see a thriving café serving the community and hosting local events. We want a welcoming space that works for parents on the school run, kids after school, and anyone looking for a coffee or a lunchtime sandwich.

It’ll be there for the football teams in the winter, cricketers in the summer, dog-walkers all year round. It will become the centre of life in the park.

And here’s the fun thing: it will be your café. This will be a community café, which means it won’t be run by a franchise. We’re hoping to plan the whole thing in partnership with High Town folks, through consultations, public meetings, school assemblies, a design competition for children, and an advisory group with representatives from the area. There’s no big money behind this either. It’s not a local government project.

Download the initial plan

We’ve had the building surveyed, and it is well-built and a good size. With some imagination, it could be converted and refitted. We could put a deck around it and windows in the walls, with picnic benches and shaded canopies.

We’ve been working with architects Francisco Sutherland to help us give shape to our ideas and to put something on paper that we can show you. They have created this preliminary plan that you can view and download at the links below.

What would you like to see? Let us know.

Lots of parks have successful cafés – Why not People’s Park too?

  • There’s one across the hill in Wardown Park, and another one in Stockwood Park.
  • St Albans has the Inn on the Park in Verulamium.
  • Bedford has the Pavilion.

We’re all local people and park users, and we’re going to need a lot of help – you can chip in to our crowdfunder here.