Plan goes ahead to restore “beautiful” Sheffield park lodge as an eating place
A historic building in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield is set to be leased out so that it can be restored and turned into a hospitality venue.
The grade II-listed building at the park entrance of Hunters Bar on Ecclesall Road has already been marketed by Sheffield City Council to find an operator to take it on.
A meeting of the council’s charity trustee sub-committee today (March 9) agreed to grant a six-month exclusivity deal, which could be extended to 12 months, while detailed lease negotiations take place.
The sub-committee has to make decisions about the park as it is owned by a charitable trust, of which the council is the sole trustee. There are 41 city charitable trusts in total held by the council.
Council parks and countryside business and partnerships manager Jo Pearce said: “The beautiful building is beginning to deteriorate.”
She said that the preferred operator can bring “significant investment to restore this building and create a high-quality hospitality venue that can complement other hospitality venues in the park”.
Sensible
The deal would bring income to the park charitable trust and mean that the restoration work is done at no cost to the council.
Committee chair Coun Richard Williams said: “I think this is a very sensible way forward.”
The park was created for the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 and the lodge and pavilion were built three years later.
The object of the charity is the provision and maintenance of a park for “walks and pleasure grounds’’.