The Rose Garden Café Partnership

Who are we?

The Rose Garden Café Partnership is made up of representatives from the Friends of Graves Park, Save the Rose Garden Café Campaign, Sheffield City Council and Chris Hallam is our independent chair.

Photo of Rose Garden Café Partnership stood outside the café and the partner logos.

Photo of the Rose Garden Café Partnership stood outside the café and the partner logos.

Why is there a Rose Garden Café Partnership?

Who are we?

The Rose Garden Café Partnership is made up of representatives from the Friends of Graves Park, Save the Rose Garden Café Campaign, Sheffield City Council and Chris Hallam is our independent chair.

Photo of Rose Garden Café Partnership stood outside the café and the partner logos.

Photo of the Rose Garden Café Partnership stood outside the café and the partner logos.

Why is there a Rose Garden Café Partnership?

Following a 15-month campaign by local people to save the Rose Garden Café after it was closed in 2022 on safety grounds, the council proposed to work in partnership with the community to restore and refurbish the café. The role of the Rose Garden Café Partnership is to create an action plan, with timescales and funding sources to develop the strategy for the restoration of the café.

Our vision statement

The Rose Garden Café Partnership’s vision for the Rose Garden café is....

To understand the current structural state of the building so that it can be fully restored as quickly as is feasible with improvements and refurbishments, for it to be operating as a café to serve the community as a sustainable building for future generations.

We want to do this by…

Creating a strategy which considers cost effectiveness, quality, accessibility, environmental impact and the future, so that we can obtain funding to achieve our vision.

What has happened so far?

Chris Hallam appointed as our independent chair

Chris has an impressive track record in strategic leadership and management with community-based regeneration schemes and is currently the part-time Chief Executive of the High Green Development Trust, Chair of Derbyshire Community Transport and a voluntary non-executive director of the Elveston Castle Trust in Derbyshire, an independent charity working on the regeneration of a major Derbyshire visitor attraction. His role will be to continue building the trust between partners and to ensure that everyone is working together effectively and urgently towards the agreed strategic goals.

Public consultation undertaken

To ensure that we capture the widest and most diverse views and opinions from park users and visitors, we designed a public consultation. The views collected will inform the design proposals, the future use of the building and help add weight to our funding bids. The consultation included a survey, ideas boards in the café designed by Newfield School's Cartoon Club and events in the park which enabled people to complete the survey.

Structural Engineer's Report - Alan Wood & Partners

In order to apply for funding, we need to finalise the design and cost plan for the restoration and refurbishment, which means we need to understand the structural design to stabilise the front wall. We co-created a brief for the structural engineer and approached engineers who have a Conservation Accredited Register of Engineers (CARE) engineer or relevant heritage experience to provide a quote for the works. Alan Wood & Partners were appointed and issued their Structural Report on July 5th.

Structural issues

The structural engineer's detailed design work alongside the new ground investigations undertaken in May 2024 concluded that the poor foundations are the sole reason for the lean in the wall. Her recommendations based on the new information are that the front wall is unsafe and should remain propped until refurbishment works take place and that any scaffolding supporting the roof can be removed.

Reopening of the internal seating

The Partnership has removed the internal scaffolding and the cafe reopened it's internal seating on August 7th 2024 with new flooring.

Progressing funding

We have a funding strategy and have already begun identifying potential sources of funding for the work with £25,000 already committed by local Councillors from the Beauchief and Graves Park area. In addition, over £11,000 has been raised through donations to the appeal led by the Friends of Graves Park.

Design team appointed to undertake RIBA Stage 1 and 2 design

A design team were appointed to undertake the next stage of design producing co-ordinated designs for the cafe based on the public consultation. The design team included structural engineer, architect, service engineers and cost manager. The design fees have been paid for using the Community Infrastructure Levy contribution from Graves Park Ward and Beauchief & Greenhill Ward LAC (Local Area Committee) and a contribution from Sheffield City Council. Click here to see the latest architectural drawings capturing the RIBA Stage 2 proposals.

Fundraising

We now have an A-Z of Fundraising Ideas that you can download, a form for you to register your Fundraising with us, and a Template Risk assessment form. You can find all of these at this link https://haveyoursay.sheffield.gov.uk/rose-garden-cafe/news_feed/fundraising.

As we get more fundraising events, you'll be able to keep up to date with these via the events on the right hand side of this page.

Internal scaffolding can be reduced recommends Alan Wood & Partners

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Structural Engineer Report Summary
We are excited and delighted to bring you this latest update from the Rose Garden Café Partnership. We met with Jenny Bulmer the conservation engineer from Alan Wood & Partners to view the results of the new ground investigations and structural findings. The structural engineer’s detailed design work alongside the new ground investigations undertaken in May 2024 have concluded that the poor foundations are the sole reason for the lean in the wall. Her recommendations based on this new information are that the front wall should remain propped by scaffolding until refurbishment works take place and that any scaffolding supporting the roof can be removed. This paves the way for the reduction of the internal scaffolding in the café and our priority is now to reopen the café’s internal seating and catering as soon as possible.

Structural Engineer Report Detail
- The Rose Garden Café Partnership (Friends of Graves Park, Save the Rose Garden Café Campaign and SCC) worked together to cocreate a design brief and appoint structural engineer, Alan Wood & Partners to undertake detailed structural design.
- Following review of all existing surveys, information and a site visit, Alan Wood & Partners advised that further ground investigations were required to conclusively determine the cause of the lean to front wall and understand if the scaffolding could be removed.
- The new ground investigations were undertaken and the structural engineer report concluded that the front wall is suffering rotational failure due to poor subsoils/insufficiently deep foundations and that no other walls are affected. The report also concluded that the main pitched roof structure is in reasonable condition.
- The structural engineer has recommended that the scaffolding to the front wall remains necessary, but any scaffolding that is propping the roof only can be removed.
- In order to make the front wall safe, the structural engineer’s recommended solution is to take down the existing front wall, retaining materials for reuse where suitable. Then to construct a new footing for full length of front elevation, taken to suitable natural bearing strata and rebuild the new wall to replicate existing.
Public Consultation Results

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We are excited to share the results of the recent public consultation on the Rose Garden Café restoration and refurbishment. We recieved1557 responses to the survey, via online and paper submissions from 41 of the 45 Sheffield (S) postcodes. These range from the Stockbridge Valley in the north to the Dronfield Valley in the south, out into neighbouring Derbyshire in the west and Nottinghamshire in the east
Click here to see the wonderful infographic created by Partnership member Liz Hnat

The questions were grouped into a number of themes – the headlines of which are shared below:

Visiting the Park
- Over half of the respondents visit the park at least once a week, with more than 25% visiting either daily or several times a week. This feedback is therefore grounded in the views of those who use the park the most.
- The most common answers to “Who do you visit the park with?” were “Family” then “Friends” with the third most popular answer being “Alone”, showing that our park is a space for all to enjoy.
- “Visiting the Rose Garden Café” itself was the second most popular reason for visiting Graves Park, next to simply walking through our wonderful space (often with a dog!).
Restoration Priorities
- The highest number of responses were for the Heritage and Identity of the Café to be respected, notably the exterior look and the clock tower being restored.
- The next priority given by the consultation is to ensure the inside of the Café is an adaptable space, maximising the possible community uses.
- Accessibility and Sustainability featured next highest on the priority list, asking us to ensure that the space is used by as wider range of people as possible, and that the café makes full use of energy efficient and low waste / maintenance technologies.
Facilities Priorities
- The ability for the space to be used by community groups was ranked number one on the priorities in the consultation.
- The provision of an indoor play / flexible space for young children within the café ranked the second highest on the wish list.
- The third highest position was taken by the need to refurbish the current toilet blocks
In addition to these headlines we have had lots of great individual contributions , notably around improving the kitchen and the outdoor seating areas, all of which will now be taken into the design process. We will be working alongside local professionals and subject matter experts to create a brief that will see the Rose Garden Café restored, rejuvenated and reborn.
Ground Investigations Undertaken

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The additional ground investigations have now been undertaken to understand the building foundations. The results of the investigations will enable the specialist structural engineer from Alan Wood & Partners to complete her proposed solutions for the front wall.

Photos of ground investigations being undertaken.