A NEWLY built sustainable community café and hub in Poundbury was visited by the Mayor of Dorchester, along with other guests, in anticipation of its official spring opening.

Pavilion in the Park (PiP) at Poundbury is a café and community space with public toilets and an office for The Alcohol Education Trust (AET).

The Mayor of Dorchester, Richard Biggs, Katie Dawes from Low Carbon Dorset, The Town Clerk Adrian Stuart, Peter Lacey of The Duchy of Cornwall, Richard Gower and Hannah Warre of Dorset Design works and Dan Cole of Wessex Eco Energy joined Helena Conibear, CEO of The Alcohol Education Trust at PiP on March 17 to view the finished building, which will open to the public on April 19 on an outside sitting and take away basis.

PiP has installed solar panels and used as much reclaimed, reused and recycled materials as possible to build the community and office space in response to Dorset Council's Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy which works towards ensuring that Dorset will be carbon-neutral by 2040.

The Alcohol Education Trust, which formerly worked out of a garden garage, raised the funds over two years to build the Pavilion, and with support from Low Carbon Dorset and The Duchy of Cornwall, has been able to install 16 solar panels and a Tesla battery that will help serve the power needs of the building.

In addition, with help from builders CG Fry, the charity has used reclaimed slates, reclaimed paving slabs – even carpet tiles, and the interior is clad using old wooden pallets and scaffolding boards crafted by Dorset Design works.

It is thought that the solar panels alone will save around four tons of CO2 per year - the equivalent of about 9000 miles in a diesel car.

Richard Biggs, Mayor of Dorchester said: "As a council that is committed to refitting its buildings to reduce their carbon footprint it’s really good to see that the Alcohol Education Trust have had the foresight to create a new building that takes full advantage of green technology from the outset.”

Peter Lacey, Duchy of Cornwall, said: "The Duchy are delighted to support the AET in the development of this long-anticipated facility, which complements the approach to sustainability that is at the heart of Poundbury. The Princes Foundation Architects design has been delivered to an excellent standard by CG Fry and completion of the building marks another milestone in the transformation of the Great Field. Over 20,000 shrubs and 400 trees have been planted over the last 18 months, with over a kilometre of paths and new wildflower meadows.

"The Great Field is a very significant project for the Duchy of Cornwall, delivering fantastic community assets, with the PiP at its centre.

"The Duchy are continuing the investment with the development of a large play area and an amphitheatre during the course of this year. On completion the Great Field will be managed by Dorchester Town Council, with whom the Duchy have been liaising throughout the project.”

When it opens, the pavilion will be offering home-made and local cakes, bakes, a hot special of the day and will be open 9 – 5pm Tuesday – Sunday. To learn more you can email lucy@pipspoundbury.com.