The real story of Victoria Park Arts Lodge & Park cafe

Here are some internal emails well memos then from our local city council but it all starts to paint an interesting picture, there was much talk but no action taken on the gatekeepers lodge in the 1990s, plans to the major road outside the lodge even a roundabout was discussed as early as 1983. Then suddenly the park keeper was kicked out and it stayed derelict throughout the 1990s and passed around each council department and never mentioned on the councils empty properties list.

Then in 2000 Mark Lewis inquired again for his creative community venue and was told by property services it was available! So how was it that it took Mark who has no qualifications, no money, no training to turn this beautiful cottage around even when there is evidence that our council along with Portsmouth University and Zurich Insurance Company tried to turn it into a café nursery…….but couldn’t! what with all their money, education and resources?
Did they wait until someone foolishly came along and offered to take on the task of the major renovation and then when they finished they would snatch it back, even though they have tried since the beginning to put us out of business they have failed each time, we have even ridden out the worst recession in living memory not only on no funding but all this behind the scenes bullying and hindrance.