Graves Park: Sheffield’s Rose Garden Cafe ‘could reopen before Christmas’ say campaigners

Sheffield park campaigners are optimistic that the Rose Garden Cafe in Graves Park could reopen temporarily before Christmas as they work towards helping to raise the money to rebuild it.

The Friends of Graves Park, a long-standing group, have been working alongside the Save the Rose Garden Cafe campaign following the sudden closure of the much-loved cafe in July by Sheffield City Council after a report on structural problems in the roof caused concern for public safety.

This prompted months of protests as both groups and park users feared the council would decide to demolish or replace the building rather than renovate it. Repairs were initially estimated to cost £450,000, said the group.

The Friends group have won permission from the council to have their own independent survey done of the 95-year-old building, which will take place in the next few days. They believe this will show that the state of the building is not as bad as feared and predict that the cost of renovation will be half the original estimate.

They have also been invited by the government to apply to its Community Ownership Fund, set up to help communities take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of closure.

‘Raise £120,000’

The group also say that further inspections of the building by the council now show that the cafe could reopen with some structural supports in place before Christmas.

The staff working for BrewKitchen, who run the cafe on behalf of the council, eventually lost their jobs because of the closure decision, which took place with only 15 minutes’ notice.

The group’s Facebook page reported: “Friends of Graves Park have been invited to make an application for government funding. Our application should be going in in March.

“For this to happen we need an independent survey and a costed plan for the work required. We also need to raise over £120,000 if we are to match the funding we are likely to be asking for.

“So time is tight. But this is a chance to see the café open again and in a condition that will see it through the next 100 years. So the ball is now back in our court. The council seem keen to work with us and the other groups.

“We need to raise the money for the matched funding in the next three months. So please help. The cafe belongs to ALL the people of Sheffield.”

The council confirmed that it continues to work closely with the Friends group. A possible reopening date for the cafe could be announced later this week, following discussions with Brewkitchen to assess the possibility of safe working for staff following extensive propping works that are taking place.

A meeting is planned for mid-January to discuss the outcome of all the investigations into the state of the building, in order to look at the most appropriate options for its long-term future, including funding opportunities and public consultation on future proposals.

Read this: Meadowhall leisure plan set for approval

Read this: Community centre worries on regeneration plan