Praise for popular Sheffield park cafe from grateful community

A popular Sheffield park cafe and community social hub has been praised for the work it does in supporting local people as the council extends its lease.
By Julia Armstrong, Local Democracy Reporter
Published 23rd Jan 2024, 11:03 BST
Updated 23rd Jan 2024, 11:07 BST
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A meeting of Sheffield City Council’s charity trustee sub-committee (January 22) agreed to grant a two-year tenancy at will to Hilary Dawtry to continue running Henry’s Cafe in Firth Park. The committee acts for the council as sole trustee of the charitable trust that gave the park to the people of Sheffield, one of many charitable trusts held by the authority.

The cafe is part of the First Start building in Firth Park, which gave the city suburb its name.

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Coun Fran Belbin praised the work of Henry's Cafe, which is in her Firth Park ward on Sheffield City Council, in supporting the local community. Picture: Julia Armstrong, LDRSCoun Fran Belbin praised the work of Henry's Cafe, which is in her Firth Park ward on Sheffield City Council, in supporting the local community. Picture: Julia Armstrong, LDRS
Coun Fran Belbin praised the work of Henry's Cafe, which is in her Firth Park ward on Sheffield City Council, in supporting the local community. Picture: Julia Armstrong, LDRS
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Coun Fran Belbin, who represents Firth Park ward on the council, praised the “fantastic work that happens in this cafe. It’s so much more than just a cafe”.

She said that the idea of agreeing a two-year tenancy at will was to secure the future of the cafe up to the point where Hilary Dawtry retires from running it and to give a chance for its future to be considered.

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Coun Belbin said that the cafe had publicised the committee’s discussion of the new lease on social media. She read out three of the positive comments made on the Facebook post to show how important the cafe is to the local community.

They were:

“Hilary Dawtry and the team were a lifeline to my elderly parents before they passed away. Henry’s Cafe made sure they had a least one hot meal a day, not to mention the love and support of the staff.”

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“Great news, the cafe and the Sure Start Centre were a lifeline to me when I was going through post-natal depression with my first child.”

“Having two boys with complex needs can make it particularly difficult to find places accepting and understanding and Henry’s always is.”

Coun Belbin added: “This decision is not just about how many covers the cafe can provide and meals you can get out. The team really do look out for people and in an area like Firth Park that’s really needed.”

The tenancy at will approved by the committee allows either party to terminate the lease at any time, without the need for a period of notice.

Related topics:SheffieldSheffield parkSheffield City Council