After a morning of meetings, Jack Lopresti MP visited the new community café in Page Park in Staple Hill. Bean Tree Café opened at the beginning of August after receiving a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Parks for People fund and is open daily for all to enjoy.
The Western Daily Press reported on the opening of the park in 1910, “in future times it would be seen that it was a green oasis in the midst of factories and buildings…a happy playground for the young, and a pleasant meeting place for all in the district”. Jack believes that this new project over a century later carries on that promise to be a great space for the entire community.
Friends of Page Park was set up in 1997 after the condition of the park had deteriorated with paths needing repair, flower beds replanting and play equipment replaced. Since then they have breathed new air into the park after successful funding applications for several sources, including the Postcode Lottery. As well as the café, this round of funding is being used to renovate the clock tower.