Mystery of missing children’s rides in Sheffield’s Millhouses Park solved

Councillor Barbara Masters questioned council officers on the missing rides in public at last week’s full council meeting after being frustrated by how challenging it was to get answers directly from the parks and countryside department.

The successful business, which was started from scratch a number of years ago, grew popular with families and operated alongside an ice-cream vendor – which she fears suffered losses as a result of the lost rides.

Both were severely affected by Covid-19 and Coun Masters said neither was eligible for business relief.

Coun Masters said: “The children’s rides always drew families to their end of the park and the ice cream vendor alongside benefited directly from their presence. It is reasonable to assume the lack of children’s rides would have impacted on the usage of the park.

“Our parks are an important part of our city, attracting residents and visitors from a wide area. The traders who operate in them on behalf of the council deserve as much support as possible. They are often small Sheffield businesses sourcing supplies locally where possible. That allows them to provide an affordable quality service which also supports our local economy.”

What happened to the rides in Millhouses Park?

Council officers said the previous tenant fell into arrears and the authority was still working to get a legal resolution.

They added: “Due to the ongoing dispute and lack of resolution, we have taken the decision to award the contract to another operator.

“We are doing what we can to ensure that any revenue that can be made in the park, is made appropriately with our partner operators, but most importantly that we can continue a range of much loved and needed services for our park users.”

Coun Masters has called for a complete overhaul of the council’s leasing strategy to give traders the best possible opportunity to succeed while maintaining quality and affordability and support parks in the process.

She added: “Already a whole year’s income from children’s rides concession and the costs of entering into a dispute mean a further loss of revenue to the parks and countryside department. It’s concerning this situation has been allowed to occur.”