News
downsmail.co.uk 7,300 sign petition for park cafe MORE than 7,300 people have signed a petition pleading for the operators of the Cobtree Cabin
cafe to be allowed to stay. Don and Marion Wyatt, from Mereworth, have run the café at Cobtree Manor Park for the past 14 years, building it up from a shabby shed into a thriving business. A new café and visitor centre is
being built as part of a multi-million pound revamp of the park, and the Wyatts believed they would be al- lowed to tender for the operation. However, they have now been
told The Cobtree Manor Estate Trust plans to operate the facility it- self.
An online petition launched by
their daughter Catherine, a student at Durham University, has attracted almost 7,400 signatures from regu- lar customers and local people who do not like the changes proposed for the new-look Cobtree Park. Catherine said: “Some of the changes are positive, but some of the decisions have been made in poor taste, without consideration of the local community.” The Wyatts have always lived in
Kent and MrsWyatt spotted the op- portunity for a café while walking her dogs each day.
Catherine said: “My father started the business in 2002, when the park was rarely used. Since then, he has built up a loyal trade through hard work, affordable prices, good quality food, and a friendly face. “Don and Marion epitomise
small, independent, family busi- nesses that we should fight to keep.”
Although the trust owned the for-
mer building, the business and goodwill thatwent with it belonged
to Don. On the understanding that Maidstone Council, which operates the park for the trust, would re-ten- der, he has remained in the park, using a £5,000 trailer while the building work takes place. Caroline said: “The council’s de-
cision has cost my family its sole source of income, and that of its em- ployees too. “We believe if the council runs the
park, it will lead to a lowering of standards, increase in prices, and none of the love, pride, and friend-
Anger at Cobtree parking fees
DOWNSMail reader Jean Inchmore has questioned the trust’s mathe- matics over the implementation of parking charges at Cobtree Park. The park, run by the Cobtree
Manor Estate Trust charity, is main- tained by Maidstone Council on the trust’s behalf. After an improvement pro- gramme costing more than £1m, which will see the introduction of a visitor centre and cafe, children’s playground and nature trails, the trust has decided to introduce a charge of £1.50 per day to help pay for its upkeep. Mrs Inchmore said: “We have
been informed that visitors have in- creased some 700%, from 40,000 to 280,000 visitors per year; that infers there are 767 visitors every day of the year. “This is ludicrous. I visit the park
twice daily and if there was ever anything in the region of 767 visitors per day I would be giving it a wide berth.” A2,300-signature petition has crit-
icised changes to the park, which in- clude the introduction of paid parking. Mrs Inchmore, from SnowdonAv-
enue,VintersPark, said shewas con- cerned that the flat-rate parking charge would penalise people such as dog walkers who wanted to visit for half an hour, while benefitting commuters who would park for the
30 Maidstone East April 2015
TheWyatts have been operating from a temporary cabin while the new café is under construction (behind)
liness of a family-run business.” Cartherine is also one of the many opposed to the introduction of a £1.50 parking charge from May. She said: “This is particularly un-
fair to dog walkers who simply want to enjoy a morningwalk.” “We feel that Maidstone Council
is acting purely in its own profit- making interest.” Don and Marion have now taken
on the former Bentley’s coffee shop in Aylesford and will open as The Village Pantry on Good Friday.
Changes made to help cover
maintenance COBTREE Manor Park is funded and run by a charity. The Cobtree Manor Estate Trust is financially in- dependent fromMaidstone Coun- cil and is not for profit. Until recently, the golf course
day and “car pool” for their onward journeys to work. “How the trust/Maidstone Coun-
cil can possibly think it fair to charge the same for someone visiting the park for a quick snack orwalk their dog for an hour compared to people who visit for the day, with picnic in tow and enjoy thenewfacilities, beg- gars belief,” she said. “If there has to be a charge it should reflect the time one spends in the park – on the same principle as the majority of car parks. “Some days there might be 20-30
cars in the car park – and some of these are people who work in town and enjoy free parking while they use one pool car for the journey into town. When the £1.50 charge comes into force they will have a cheap day’s parking. “On sunny weekends and in
school holidays, there is an influx of visitors and therefore the prospect of a great deal of revenue from parking charges and the refurbished cafe. “We are told that fines from failing
to purchase a ticket will go back to fund further enforcement. One can only hope that visitors are not caught out.” The Cobtree Manor Estate Charity Committee considered charges be- fore setting the fee. These range from £1 during the week and £1.50 at weekends at the White Horse Coun- try Park and £1.50 at Trosley and Manor Park during the week (£2 at weekends) to £2 at Shorne and £4 per person at BewlWater. Leybourne Lakes and Haysden Country Parks charge 80p for up to four hours and £2.80 and £3 for more than four hours. Season tickets range from £25 to £40.
covered maintenance costs at Cobtree Manor Park, but this is no longer the case and the trust had to look at other ways to cover the costs of the park. A spokesman said: “The new
café and visitor centre, which will open in May, are part of a 2012 plan for Cobtree Park, which was consulted on before it began. Bringing the café in-house will re- duce costs and improve the cus- tomer experience with staff in all areas of the park able to assist with all queries. “All money raised from parking
charges and the café will be rein- vested in the park. Recent im- provements to the park were made using money from an en- dowment fund and a grant from the Cobtree Charity Trust. “We would like to thank the cur-
rent café operator for his work in the park, but his contract is now coming to an end andwe are look- ing to move the park forward.”
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