New £1.5m seaside restaurant aims for winter opening

It had been hoped that the café/restaurant at Martello Park would open this summer, but in the end that did not prove possible and contractors have focussed on completing the exterior and grounds.

The next phase will be the interior and fitting out work, which is expected to begin soon.

Craig Rivett, ESC cabinet member for economic development; Steve Gallant, ESC leader; Mark Hart, joint managing director at Barnes Construction; and councillor Steve Wiles on the roof of the new Martello Park cafe in Felixstowe (Image: Pagepix Ltd.07976 935738)

Part of the delay is down to proposed changes to the internal layout which have been submitted to East Suffolk Council. These seek to change of use of the internal ‘drum’ space, to form a restaurant/café kitchen with a centralised kitchen - removing the proposed community use space from the building.

It is now hoped to resolve this and get the new restaurant/café open before Christmas.

Barnes Construction is building the project and the Dedham Boathouse Group will be taking on the running of the new eatery once it is ready to open, offering indoor and outdoor dining with seaviews.

Exterior of the building is virtually complete (Image: Archant)

The buildings sits at the end of Sea Road, at its junction with Orford Road and at the entrance to Martello Park.

Martello Park has already provided new homes, all-age play areas, kiosks and car parking.

East Suffolk Council has also invested in refurbishing public shelters and the long-term maintenance of its historic Martello Tower, which forms the centrepiece of the park and which it is seeking to turn into a tourist attraction.

How the new Kitchen@Martello Park on FelIxstowe seafront will look Picture: PLAICE DESIGN CO LTD (Image: Plaice Design Co)

The £1.5m project is funded by the council and the Coastal Communities Fund (CCF) which awarded the council £950,000 grant funding to enable the project to go ahead. Additional funding of £30,000 was also awarded from the Coastal Revival Fund.

Cameron and Claire Marshall, owners of the Dedham Boathouse Group, are "super excited" to be taking on the venture, which they will be calling The Kitchen@Martello Park, providing "food and drinks with a laid-back seaside vibe".

It is planned to open the new restaurant/cafe this winter (Image: Archant)

PLAICE Design, architects for the exciting modern building, said: "Great to see the Kitchen@Martello in Felixstowe taking shape as it enters the final stages of shell completion".

A CGI showing the inside of the new Martello Park eatery at Felixstowe Picture: PLAICE DESIGN CO LTD (Image: Plaice Design Co)

East Suffolk Council said the project was "hugely important" to Felixstowe and would support tourism and offer local employment opportunities, making the South Seafront an exciting place to visit, live, work and invest.