A SHARING agreement has been agreed upon by groups using the Langton Pavilion, following conflict over the space which came to a head this spring.
Located in the Recreation Ground near the Speldhurst Parish Council (SPC) office, Langton Pavilion has been used by both the Langton Pavilion Café and Langton Green Community Sports Association (LGCSA).
Lack of agreement over timetabling and the use of space had led matters to the brink of the café’s licence being allowed to expire on March 31.
However, following an extension and mediation process led by a parishioner reporting to SPC, the two parties were able to hammer out issues of storage, timetabling, stock and cleaning, with the aim of creating clear expectations between the users.
To take the heat out of interaction, one of the recommendations was for SPC to manage an online booking system to which both the café and sports club would have access.
‘Heads of agreement’ between the parties have now been agreed, and are being translated into a legally binding arrangement, the mediator said.
Announcing the news that the café would remain open, owner-manager Emma Howden thanked supporters, including the mediator, parish council, Village Society, her staff and a supporter who set up the Change.org petition.
She said: “Through all the many negatives in this process, we have established a HUGE positive, and that is how important the Pavilion is as a hub, not only for the café but for sport and events in the village.”
She added that she hoped her business and LGCSA ‘can support each other in providing something very important for the community’.
LGCSA’s Football Fiesta takes place this weekend (June 3-4), with information at langtongreencsa.org.uk.
Langton Pavilion Café is taking a break in operation until June 13, and will also be closed over August, re-opening on September 5.
