Beer garden to remain in city park with new lease

The Waggon and Horses borders Millhouses Park and Abbeydale Road South

A pub can continue to use land in a nearby park as its beer garden after a new lease was agreed.

The Waggon and Horses in Sheffield was granted permission to use part of Millhouses Park for outdoor seating for 10 years in August 2023.

However, the day after the lease was signed, the pub's owners, True North Brew, went into administration.

There were objections to the park being used by drinkers, but the city council has now accepted terms at a "reduced cost" due to the pub's trade being poorer than expected.

A report said a projected yearly additional turnover of £200,000 by the pub had not been achieved

The Friends of Millhouses Park collected 1,700 signatures opposing the beer garden plans back in 2018, but the Waggon and Horses was allowed to use the land under temporary agreements with the council between 2021 and 2023.

The group said it was concerned about the loss of green space and feared the beer garden would detract from other food and drink retailers in the vicinity.

However, Sheffield City Council said it would make the park "varied and pleasant".

Encourage further use

At a meeting of the council's finance and performance policy committee earlier, head of property Angela Glentworth said it was widely acknowledged that the pub industry "continued to operate in a challenging economic environment".

She said increased costs at the pub had been "coupled with a reduction in demand due to the cost of living crisis".

A report to the committee stated that a final offer for the park was made by the pub's owners on the basis that trading had been "poorer than anticipated".

Administrators sold True North Brew's assets to new owners, Cocktails and Craft Beers Ltd, in August 2023 and all staff jobs were saved.

Ms Glentworth said that the company had also offered to end the sale of takeaway ice cream, which would benefit the holder of the park's ice cream van concession.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said councillor Shaffaq Mohammed had voiced concerns on behalf of the Friends of Millhouses Park about a previous promise for three years of backdated rent from the pub to be ringfenced for the benefit of the park.

Ruth Bell, the council's head of parks and countryside, confirmed that the first three years' worth of payments would go directly into the park's funds "so residents can see a clear impact on that green space being used".

The report also stated: "The addition of this facility in the park may encourage further use of the park, including allowing people to stay in the green space longer than they otherwise would. These things would be of benefit to the public."

It also noted that an alternative option rejected by councillors - to withdraw the offer of a lease and seek to take back possession of the site - still remained an option.

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