Council rejects criticism over Parc Pantry
Posted on Wednesday 26th September 2018
Belle Vue Park pavilion and conservatories
Newport City Council officers are shocked and disappointed by the comments of the Parc Pantry operators who have decided not to renew their concession to run the café at Belle Vue Park.
Officers and councillors have worked long and hard with the operators to ensure the success of their concession.
However, in recent weeks the council had to close the café at short notice on health and safety grounds.
The decision was taken following the annual inspection of the business where it was identified that working practices needed to be changed to meet electrical safety standards
Parc Pantry operates under licence to Newport City Council who own the café premises.
A council spokesperson said: “Following the annual inspection of the premises the council was advised there were issues with working practices and the decision was taken to close the premises down immediately.
“The business was advised what changes needed to be carried out by them as licence holders but they were reluctant to comply.
“The council then installed extra electrical sockets to stop the practice of overloading extension leads to run equipment and the café was then allowed to reopen.”
It has been suggested that introducing car parking charges at Belle Vue Park had also affected the café business.
However Parc Pantry were consulted on the proposal and, following this process, were offered two permits for parking in the car park.
In addition, they were offered provision for their staff in the former nursery site which is a short walk across from the park.
“The café had complained to the council on a number of occasions about the lack of parking for customers, due in the main to commuter use and this was one of the reasons for introducing the parking charges,” said the council spokesperson.
The café concession holder indicated to the council they would not be renewing their licence on the Monday before the charges came into effect, which was less than two weeks ago.
“When they gave notice to terminate their licence they did not make any reference to the parking charges, which had not come into effect at that time, and we do not agree that the business could have been affected so drastically in such a short time after they were introduced.
“In fact, since Parc Pantry announced their intention to terminate their licence, the council has been inundated with enquiries about taking up the concession, which serves to confirm the council’s view that there are no trading or parking issues.
“The council is aware that there are a number of bookings that have been made with the current concession holder and these will be honoured either by the council directly or with the new providers.
"If anyone is worried about their booking please contact the council directly by emailing [email protected] ”