A PARK cafe is to have its opening hours extended after being taken over by a leisure trust.

Darlington's South Park cafe will now be operated by Richmondshire Leisure Trust, which runs Richmond's swimming pool and Colburn Leisure Centre, both in North Yorkshire.

The trust, which operates on a not-for-profit basis, will take over management of the cafe from today, in time for the summer holidays.

Opening hours will be extended to weekdays until the end of October and the trust will be speaking to local groups which use the park to see if it can tailor its hours around their activities.

The move has been welcomed by people who use the park, who said the sporadic opening hours meant some people thought the cafe had closed down completely.

Austin Gordon, General Manager of Richmondshire Leisure Trust said: "We see this as an exciting opportunity to develop this service in one of the best parks in the region and look forward to working in partnership with Darlington Borough Council.

"We will work with visitors, park clubs and groups over the coming weeks to understand the needs and how best we can accommodate this.

"We are very grateful to the Council for giving us this opportunity and look forward to extending and enhancing the service."

From today until October 29 South Park cafe will be open between 10am and 4pm Sunday to Friday, and 8.30am to 4pm on Saturdays, to accommodate parkrunners.

Between November and Easter next year the opening hours will be at weekends only, except for the Christmas and February half term holidays, when it will be open daily.

The Trust said it would confirm exact opening times for the winter season later in the year.

Cllr Nick Wallis, Darlington Borough Council Cabinet member for leisure and the local environment said: “We look forward to working in partnership with Richmondshire Leisure Trust to provide an improved South Park café service, with extended opening, for the benefit of visitors.”

The cafe takeover comes as South Park's arson-hit toddler play area, which was destroyed by fire earlier this year, reopened after funds were raised to rebuild it through a crowdfunding campaign.

Charity Groundwork North East and Cumbria secured more than £20,000 to replace the equipment within four months of the old play set being destroyed.

The play set pays tribute to the town's railway heritage, and includes a climbing frame, slide and elements for imaginative play.