Tillydrone Community Development Trust is delighted that the ground floor of the Wallace Tower is now open! Visitors will find a warm and welcoming café, run by The Liberty Kitchen team. After opening at the beginning of December the café has been very busy, serving hot drinks, and delicious cakes, sandwiches and toasties. There is disabled access, with an accessible entrance through the main doors into the extension, and the café is dog friendly, so well behaved pups on a lead are very welcome and will find a drink of water at the door and even a biscuit on the dresser inside!

Our community consultation was in favour of the building housing a café, and we are proud to have achieved such an inviting space for locals, as well as visitors to Seaton Park. It is so rewarding to see our vision for the once derelict building taking shape, following a Community Asset Transfer from the Council and over a decade of work from many residents, volunteers and supporters.

Work continues to create more community space. Our volunteers got their sleeves rolled up in November to strip the upper floors, with four tonnes of plasterboard alone being removed. They also filled several skips full of kitchen and bathroom fittings, old carpets, doors and windows, and general debris. All the internal walls were removed, leaving lovely bright, open spaces.  We have received enough funding to insulate and board the walls and carry out first fix electrics and plumbing. Fundraising is ongoing to complete the upper floors.

It has been so rewarding to see people enjoy the building, sharing stories about their experiences there, including attending meetings and music lessons, and even some who lived there when it was located in the centre of town! After being moved to make way for the development of Marks and Spencer, it was fitting that M&S donated their café furniture when their city centre branch closed. It suits our café perfectly and we really appreciate their support.