A CAFÉ and boat hire facility in a Basingstoke park is expected to remain open for the rest of the summer holidays after closing because of ‘Covid reasons’.

The paddle boats and Boathouse Café in Eastrop Park are meant to be open from 11.30am to 5.30pm during the school summer holiday.

However, the facility has been shut, with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council saying this is because of Covid.

The council said the café and boathouse is leased to a commercial operator, and it therefore has no control over its opening.

It added that the lease finishes next year when the council will review the arrangement and look at “future options for the facilities”.

The Gazette asked the borough council for contact details of the operator so we could request a comment on the closure.

The council responded to say that because the operator is a sole trader, the council is not allowed to pass on his name and contact details under data protection rules. 

The only details of the café and boathouse available online, including opening times, are on the borough council website.