Rose Garden Cafe Graves Park: Sheffield cafe put on heritage list to give new protection

Protection for a popular Sheffield park cafe has been ramped up, following a battle to keep it open by residents.

Sheffield MP Louise Haigh has confirmed the Rose Garden Cafe in Graves Park has been listed on the South Yorkshire Heritage List - a list set up by South Yorkshire Archaeology Service cataloguing heritage assets that are valued as contributing to the distinctiveness and history of South Yorkshire but that are not protected by statutory national designations, such as Listing or Scheduling.

Officials say inclusion on the Local Heritage List can allow the local significance of a building, place or site to be taken into account in planning decisions that affect it or its setting - although it won't provide the same level of protection as national designation.

Ms Haigh said the cafe, at one stage was closed because of concerns over the building's safety, had been listed as it contributes to the distinctiveness and history of South Yorkshire.

A major campaign has been running to save the facility, which has been used in the park for generations. It partly reopened last December, with scaffolding and propping, and is currently run as a takeaway-only service.

The Sheffield Heeley MP said: “It is fantastic news for Graves Park and all those who love and use the park that the Rose Garden Café has been listed on South Yorkshire’s Heritage listing.

“This will give this much-loved building more protection in the future and will hopefully mean it can be protected for years to come.

“It's thanks to the campaigning of the Friends of Graves Park, the café itself and thousands of local residents that this status has been granted.”

The cost of fully restoring the Rose Garden Cafe at Graves Park has been estimated at £1,790,000 in a report by Sheffield Council.

It is the most expensive option of five costed by the council – closing the cafe and securing the site is cheapest at £95,000.

A petition calling for restoration of the building following the sudden closure of the cafe in July 2022 now has 11,000 signatures.

Last month the council stated it wanted to work with the Friends of Graves Park, the Save the Rose Garden Cafe campaign, local residents and other groups to make a decision on the future of the building, which dates to 1927.