Staveley community café closes as council cuts bite

The council has said the pandemic had hit bookings at Staveley Hall

A community café has become the latest victim of cuts at a Derbyshire council despite donations to keep it open.

Staveley Town Council confirmed last month it had a £400,000 deficit and would be cutting staff and services.

Staveley Hall Cafe closed after redundancies were confirmed, and staff revealed it had only managed in recent weeks due to public donations.

While being paid in "dribs and drabs", staff had accepted gifts of stock but on Friday were told to close the doors.

A majority decision by the town council last week led to the closure of the facility with the loss of 10 posts and numerous redundancies among the authority's wider staff.

Former café worker Kelly Evans said times had been tough in recent months.

"We have relied on donations from the public, without them we wouldn't have been able to stay open," she said.

No 'focal point'

She said she had been doing split shifts when needed - working at the café during the day and the Speedwell Rooms function venue at night.

Despite this, she had not been paid complete wages.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the news of the final closure only came when staff were told not to buy any more milk.

Independent town councillor Cheryl Jackson, who was against the closure, said: "Staveley hasn't got a focal point now, there isn't a meeting point."

Council leader Paul Mann has previously said the pandemic and historic debts were to blame for the problems.

The town council is currently in talks with neighbouring Chesterfield Borough Council over a potential loan.