Shipley Country Park café to close after rent dispute

The café is set to close on 15 March

A café at a country park in Derbyshire is to close following a rent dispute.

The operators of Ramblers Coffee Shop at Shipley Country Park near Heanor have spent months wrangling over renewing the lease with their landlord, Derbyshire County Council.

They said due to a proposed 66% increase in rent - later reduced to 33% - they had opted to close on 15 March.

The authority said it felt the terms it had offered were reasonable based on the café's prime position.

In a Facebook post, the café's operators accused the council of increasing the rent "as a means to plug their budget shortfall in other areas, even if this means putting small business owners and their employees out of work".

They added: "The whole saga has dragged on for so long that it's quite frankly draining our energy and becoming unhealthy.

"We have concluded that we cannot work alongside council representatives who fail to keep their promises and regard our staff as being 'collateral damage'."

Helen Woodroffe (left) and Sharon Brunelleschi said they were upset about the closure

Helen Woodroffe, who began working at the café last summer, said: "A lot of people are very sad and angry it's closing.

"A 66% increase is an unimaginable amount in a short period of time."

Customers also expressed sadness an agreement could not be reached.

A Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said: "We're sorry that the owners have chosen not to accept the terms of a new lease despite our best attempts to negotiate.

"We believe the terms we proposed were reasonable based on the unique position the café holds in a prime location within the increasingly popular Shipley Country Park.

"We are a huge supporter of local businesses but we have a legal duty to make sure we're getting the right level of income from leasing our premises for the benefit of all council taxpayers.

"Income generated from leasing our premises helps to pay for services we provide, such as the upkeep of our country parks.

"We will shortly begin the process to advertise for a new café provider to open up in the park, and arrangements will be made for takeaway food and drinks to be sold at the Visitor Centre should Ramblers Cafe close in advance of this."

Negotiations between the operators and the council have gone on for several months