Sutton-in-Ashfield: Eviction fear community cafe urges council talks

About 5,000 people have signed a petition calling on the council not to evict the cafe

A Nottinghamshire cafe which could face eviction if it cannot take on a raft of extra costs has urged the local authority to "sit around the table".

Rumbles Community Cafe in Sutton-in-Ashfield provides opportunities for people with learning disabilities.

Ashfield District Council is changing the current nominal annual rent from £50 to a commercial rate of £7,000.

It also wants the charity-run cafe to fund utility costs and take on the running of an on-site public toilet.

Negotiations have been ongoing between the two parties since September.

Cafe bosses have accepted the rental increase from a not-for-profit to a commercial rate, but said they could not agree to the toilet demand due to complexities with liability insurance, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Almost 5,000 people have signed a petition calling on the council not to evict the community cafe.

Gina Dolan, charity manager for Rumbles, 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 working long hours and we help people from schools, with learning disabilities, disadvantaged people to get work and life skills.

She added: "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."

Gina Dolan, charity manager for Rumbles, with customer Annette Weightnan

Council leader Jason Zadrozny said: "We have offered a new, charitable rate which is significantly reduced [compared to the market rate].

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

"We're still in talks with their solicitors and our legal teams and we're 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.

"In this day and age, I think that's fair. They're a business, they make a profit and the council can't continue to subsidise them."

The council said the cafe had declined "highly-subsidised" terms for a new tenancy.

A spokesperson for the authority added: "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."