A NEW £500,000 cafe has opened for business in Moss Bank Park.

The new eatery was built on the same spot as the old cafe, which was destroyed by a fire in 2009.

Council chiefs used insurance money from the previous cafe and an portion of its £2million park investment scheme to build the new establishment.

The cafe – which took eight months to build – has seats for up to 50 customers plus an outdoor eating area.

It will sell sandwiches, snacks and hot drinks.

Cabinet Member for Community Services, Cllr Sufrana Bashir-Ismail, said she was delighted to see the cafe welcoming its first customers on Monday.

She said: “It’s brilliant that work has finished.

“It’s somewhere people can stop for a coffee and a chat, or even for a spot of lunch.

“The café is also located next to The Hive, where children can learn about nature and so we hope it will be well used by the local community and also by visitors to the park.”

The new cafe is the latest improvement to be made to Moss Bank Park, after a £300,000 upgrade of the tennis courts was completed in June.

New nets, fencing and floodlights were installed and the concrete was resurfaced and painted. Bolton’s first outdoor gym at Queen’s Park also opened earlier this year and work is also underway on a £474,000 scheme to create four new football pitches at Hulton Lane playing fields.

The Moss Bank Park cafe was designed by local architects Bradshaw Gass and Hope, and has been built by north west building company Jackson, Jackson and Sons Ltd.

The Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Martin Donaghy, will officially open the café in November.