Shipping container park cafe plan

A new graffiti-proof cafe housed inside a storage container will continue the transformation of a former Exeter dump which was used to train wartime tank drivers and once nearly became a heliport.

Flowerpot Fields, beside the River Exe, was also the scene of a bloody battle in 1643 at the height of the English Civil War. More recently it has been the scene of a planning wrangle.

Now an application has been lodged with the city council for permission to open a new cafe close to the skate park in the south-eastern corner of the site.

The locally-based applicant wants to bring in a shipping container cafe with a public toilet, a defibrillator and first aid facilities.

The cafe would be sited on an undeveloped parcel of land and would have a small amount of outdoor seating. It would be given a coat of green ‘anti-graffiti’ paint.

The applicant says: “The proposal represents a small-scale, low-impact facility that complements the existing recreational function of Flowerpot Park.”

Opening hours for the cafe would be daytime hours from Monday to Saturday, and closed on Sundays.

Flowerpot Fields was most recently the scene of a planning battle over what is now an Exeter College rugby facility, with the Exeter Civic Society objecting to the proposals.

The area has a colourful history. Before the Second World War it was used as a rubbish dump, but in wartime became a training area for light tanks.

Fifty years ago it was proposed as a site for the city’s heliport, but now it is a recreation area with the skate park and rugby pitches alongside other community sports facilities.