Heeley City Farm: Boss Stuart Gillis steps down amid criticism and "for my health"

Stuart Gillis is leaving after a year, saying his turnaround plan kept the charity alive. It led to the loss of nine full-time equivalent jobs, an almost entirely new board and a shake-up which helped the closure-threatened cafe become profitable again, he said. But the more commercial approach provoked a storm of protest and calls for him to go.

Mr Gillis, aged 55, said he had “no regrets” and was proud of how he handled criticism.

He added: “I’m smiling for the first time in a while. I’m feeling relieved, it’s been a battle. For my own health I need to take a step away. There were a lot of personal attacks on me which I never responded to. You can only do your best. I think the new board now need to own things They are really good people and they will work it out.”

When he arrived on May 2 last year the charity had been run for four decades by founder John LeCorney. But it “quickly became apparent” drastic action was needed, he said. It could just about make it all add up four years out of five - before facing a battle for survival.

He added: “We kept the farm alive when everything pointed the other way. I think it’s still working out how to make a transition from something that survives by the skin of its teeth into something with firmer foundations. But for me it’s time to move on.”

A statement on the farm’s Facebook page thanked him for his “commitment, resilience, and passion.”

It added: “Stuart has helped us build our relationships with key partners and shape and deliver a turnaround plan to change the outlook and improve the farm's financial viability.”

But some were critical.

Michael Hobson wrote: “Ripped the heart out of the farm, and the heart out of staff that worked there, including my partner. A job very well done. Hope staff can get the farm back to what it used to be. Not a profit making organisation, but a place for people including staff and local community to come together, receive support and love from each other and grow stronger. Something he never understood.”