Popular Telford park cafe says changes could jeopardise its future
The owners of a café business say their future is at stake because of a council’s plans for a popular park.
Bowring Park Cafe in Wellington has become a community venue involved in running, cycling and football clubs and helping the vulnerable.
But now Donna Miles and David Cheshire, who lease the building from Wellington Town Council to run the café, fear proposed changes will put the operation in jeopardy. They have asked for an urgent meeting with the Telford & Wrekin Council leader, Councillor Shaun Davies, and have launched a petition.
Mr Cheshire said: “Following the failure of Bowring Park to achieve Green Flag status, Telford & Wrekin Council proposed several changes to the park in order to gain green flag accreditation this summer. However, when these were presented to the stakeholders it was immediately apparent that if the outlined proposals would severely impact the business and operation of the café.”
One of the changes would include two paths positioned to the front and rear of the café. This would, David and Donna say, lead to the loss of parts of the current flower beds and mean Bowring Park Café would be unable to put tables and chairs on the grass during the summer months.
"We have requested a license and offered to pay an annual fee in order to do this, but T&WC have simply refused. For a hospitality business to lose 32 covers is incomprehensible.
“We have secured over 600 signatures for a petition in less than a week that object to T&WC’s refusal to allow us to put tables and chairs on the grass.”
They said the council would also force the movement of the order and collection service to a side window and would impact on those with wheelchairs and pushchairs.
"By forcing Bowring Park Café to operate this way would mean the complete overhaul of the internal operation of the café which would incur a huge amount of expenditure. Additionally whilst these renovations are taking place, which we are opposed to, the café will be forced to close, resulting in thousands of pounds of lost revenue."
"Donna and I have invested more than three years of our time and in excess of £70k into the café. Starting and running a business is hard enough at the best of times, let alone whilst also dealing with the impact of a global pandemic.
"Trading in these current business conditions is difficult enough but now coupled with the proposed changes which would contribute to a significant decrease in turnover makes business survival and staff redundancies increasingly difficult and likely.
"The council is actively promoting a scheme of investing £20 million in new business. This is in stark contrast to the potential adoption and implementation of the current proposals which will lead to the significant decrease in the turnover of the café."
A spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council said meetings would be taking place between the owners, Councillor Davies and the authority's member for parks, Councillor Carolyn Healy.
The council spokesman said the concern was over safety at the entrance to the park and that no plans had been finalised.
He said: "Residents, park users and external bodies have highlighted the very real safety risks and concerns at the entrance to Bowring Park.
"The council has been working positively for some time with the owners of Bowring Park Café, Wellington Town Council who lease the building to the café, local ward members, the Friends of Bowring Park and other stakeholders, to improve safety around the entrance area of the park. These discussions continue and plans are not yet finalised.
"This is about safety and also being able to attract investment into the park so it can thrive. We have pledged significant investment to help resolve the situation, which includes direct cash help to the café.
"Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, Councillor Shaun Davies, and cabinet member for parks, Councillor Carolyn Healy, will be meeting with Bowring Park Café’s owners in the coming days for further discussions.
"We recognise that the café is very popular, with a loyal following, and we will do all we can to find a way to support the business owners and enable their customers to continue to enjoy Bowring Park Café, whilst ensuring the safety of all park users."
