Members of the community unite to help try to save Sutton café Rumbles

Rumbles Community Café, on Sutton Lawn, was served notice from Ashfield Council to vacate the premises at the end of its lease – it was later granted a three-month extension after more than 3,000 people signed a petition against its closure inside a week.

The venue and its catering programme has supported people with learning disabilities by providing work experience opportunities and training.

Customers present at the meeting were eager to know how they could support the cafes lease negotiations and bid to remain at the Lawn.

Tamar Roberts, café director, said: “The meeting went well, but we are waiting for the council to respond to the latest solicitors correspondence.

“A customer present at the meeting has also put a plea on social media stating why Rumbles Catering Project should stay at the Lawn and not be removed for a profit making organisation.

“Our mission statement is ‘to educate and train young persons and adults resident in the county of Nottingham who are disadvantaged, whether or not by reason of their disability or social or economic circumstances, within a realistic working environment so as to enable them to obtain work experience and to promote independent living and personal development’.

“This is the reason we exist to provide as per our mission statement.

"Ashfield MP Lee Anderson, who was present at the meeting, has arranged for minister Tom Pursglove, from the Department for Work and Pensions, to visit Rumbles on Thursday.

“Hopefully this will bring some much-needed attention to our fight to save Rumbles at The Lawn."

Mr Anderson said: “It seems the Ashfield Independents will stop at nothing in closing many of our social enterprise schemes throughout the district.

“The sailing club of more than 60 years has gone and now Rumbles Café faces closure and it’s all down to money.”

A council spokesman said: “Ashfield Council has been in discussions and continues to negotiate with the current tenants of Rumbles Café as its 15-year licence is due for renewal. Discussions are still ongoing.”

Coun David Hennigan said: “As a local councillor, we informed the people who run Rumbles Cafe that we couldn’t attend the meeting because their legal team were in negotiations with the council about a new lease renewal.

"It was also explained to them that because of ‘purdah’, which restricts what the council can do before elections – no one from the council could attend.

"Let me be clear, I have been very good with the current occupiers of Rumbles Café, I even helped them get a huge business rates demand waived during Covid.

"Any suggestion from the current MP that I or the council are against social enterprise schemes is utter nonsense.”