Council urged to ‘sit around table’ as popular Sutton café faces closure over rent and toilet row

Rumbles Community Café, Sutton Lawn, has been operating in the park for the past 16 years, offering work placements for people with learning disabilities and life training for some of the most vulnerable members of society.

However, it has been embroiled in a row with the council for almost a year over its rent.

The cafe, as a charitable organisation, has paid a ‘peppercorn’ fee of about £50 per year to lease its home from the authority.

Negotiations to extend the lease have been ongoing since last September when the café was originally told about rent increases.

Café bosses say annual fees will rise by 14,000 per cent to £7,000 as the council looks to change its lease from a charitable to a commercial agreement.

The Ashfield Independents-controlled authority is also asking the charity to fund all utility costs for the building and take on the running of an on-site public toilet.

Café bosses have accepted the rental raise, but say they cannot agree to the toilet demand due to complexities with liability insurance.

They also say the toilets are not just used by Rumbles’ customers and should be the responsibility of the council as its landlord.

However, after months of unsuccessful negotiations, the authority has tabled this deal as a take-it-or-leave-it offer – with the council leader warning legal action leading to eviction will follow if no agreement is reached.

But fearing closure, a major community campaign has seen thousands sign a public petition and action days organised to keep the charity alive.

A ‘Friends of Rumbles’ group has also been set up amid concern the charity’s work could be lost forever.

‘Absolutely priceless’

Chad Tesoriere lives with a rare form of chromosome deletion and worked at the cafe when it first opened.

He still visits every Thursday with his mum Amanda Quinn and said: “The council isn’t listening to us. Why would you want to shut a community café down for people with special needs?

“I worked here for a long time and got taught a lot by the team who work really hard. Cooking, cleaning, and things I didn’t know a lot about.”

Amanda, aged 56, said: “It feels familiar for him with friends and staff and he feels comfortable. He looks forward to coming every week. It’s absolutely priceless.”

Annette Weightnan, 78, has been attending Rumbles since it opened 16 years ago and brings her son disabled son Mark most days.

She said: “It’s a wonderful place to come. They treat everybody so well and we’ve seen so many people grow and develop to become full people with good careers.

“Isn’t it right they have that chance? They wouldn’t get it without places like this.”

‘Far more than a commercial venue’

Gina Dolan, Rumbles charity manager, has urged the council to sit down with bosses and come to an agreement

She said: “I’d like the council to sit around the table and discuss what we actually do for the community.

“It needs to get to know our beneficiaries and how much input goes into them and the community we work for.

“The council is looking at us as a commercial venue, but it’s far more than that.

“We’re open every day and help people from schools, with learning disabilities, disadvantaged people to get work and life skills.”

On the toilet dispute, she said: “Public toilets belong to the public and the council has the responsibility to clean them.

“We’re quite prepared to pay more, we understand times are difficult, but we aren’t looking after the toilets. That’s not our responsibility in a public building.”

Legal action

However, the council says the cafe has declined “highly-subsidised” terms for a new tenancy, with the leader saying his authority has done all it can to compromise during negotiations.

Coun Jason Zadrozny said: “We have offered a new, charitable rate which is significantly reduced [compared withthe market rate].

“At this time, and in fairness to all other café operators, we wanted to increase it slightly.

“We’re still in talks with their solicitors and our legal teams and are issuing court proceedings because their lease has come to an end.

“We’re hopeful they’ll still come to the table because, in fairness, we’re still offering them a reduced rent, but we want them to pay their own utilities and cleaning bills.”

A council spokesman said: “The café operator was offered highly subsidised terms for a new tenancy. However, it has not accepted the new agreement despite best efforts on the part of the council.

“The council has a duty to obtain the best value for taxpayers and the new terms offered are extremely favourable.

“The council remains committed to safeguarding public services such as the toilet facilities.”

Ashamed

Lee Anderson, Conservative MP for Ashfield, has hailed the work of Rumbles – and said the council should be ashamed of its position.

He said last month: “This fantastic facility run by volunteers provides a brilliant support system for people with special educational needs to learn skills which will help them lead a much more independent life.

“The Ashfield Independents often talk of cuts to services, yet are allowing the people of Ashfield to lose this valuable service that is a lifeline to hundreds. They should be ashamed.

“This venue could easily be a Starbucks or Costa, charging over-the-odds prices and paying the council a standard market-value lease, as it would be the only café on Sutton Lawn.

“Instead, we have this amazing community café providing fantastic work opportunities to some of the most needy people in Ashfield.

“It is an absolute disgrace that the council seems hell-bent on closing this much-loved café, despite offering support to other cafés elsewhere in Sutton.”