Work has begun this week in Viaduct Park to prepare the site for the installation of the Youth Training Café in September, which will provide a food and drink outlet near the popular Viaduct Park skate park.
With the café itself being constructed from multiple shipping containers offsite and then delivered and assembled in Tamworth, work onsite before the components arrive will involve the construction of footings for the containers as well as the establishment of water, sewer, stormwater and power services to the final café location. A concrete slab for an alfresco area and paths will also be constructed to link to existing paths within Viaduct Park and on Macquarie Street.
This work is expected to take 2 weeks to complete. This will then remain secured until the containers manufactured in Albury are delivered to site and assembled.
Identified as a priority in previous community consultation, the café will provide a range of accredited hospitality training programs for young trainees looking to gain work experience in customer service, food handling, preparation and cooking, stock rotation, point of sale and small business skills.
As a social enterprise, the café will reinvest 100% of surplus into supporting and training young people in the Tamworth region. Trainees will develop transferable employability skills, nationally accredited units of competency and structured workplace experience with the aim of enabling a successful transition to sustainable mainstream employment.
Peter Resch, Director Regional Services said “The café is an important part of our vision for Viaduct Park as a recreational meeting place for young people in Tamworth. The new skate park has been a huge hit with the community, and we are excited to see Viaduct Park continue to develop into a vibrant recreational and sporting space.”
Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson said this project is one of the most exciting community developments being delivered by Tamworth Regional Council.
“The Viaduct Park Youth Recreation Hub is already a popular spot for families in the Tamworth region,” Mr Anderson said.
“This next step of the project is another great addition to the hub. The café will not only provide goods and services to the many people who visit Viaduct Park, but it will also provide training opportunities in our community. We have a bustling café scene in Tamworth and this café will help train up the next generation,” Mr Anderson said.
The Youth Training Café is an element of Tamworth Regional Council’s Viaduct Park master plan, adopted in May 2020, which can be found at https://haveyoursay.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/viaduct-park-masterplan
Residents can keep up to date with the project at https://haveyoursay.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/viaduct-park-youth-training-cafe
The new Youth Training Café has been funded by the NSW Government’s Stronger Country Communities Fund, contributing $369,176 to the project. Additional embellishments to the café including a rooftop dining space and alfresco area downstairs dining space have been awarded a further $210,000 funding from the Australian Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program.
