Locals dismayed as council looks for new cafe tenant
WEST Dunbartonshire Council is on the lookout for a new tenant to take over a parkland cafe.
The local authority published a post to Facebook stating the Pavillion Cafe, located within Levengrove Park in Dumbarton, is available to lease.
The council is looking for rental offers in excess of £ 15,000 per year for the property. The length of the lease is said to be negotiable with a minimum duration of five years.
It is described as a purpose- built cafe in a single storey detached building.
It features large, glazed display windows at the front looking out onto the park.
Inside there is an open plan cafe area, kitchen, toilets and office space.
There is also a decked area to the front and side of the property which has an open- sided canopy.
Residents shared their reaction to the news. One person said: “If [ the cafe] is that good why are you putting it up for lease, paying off the staff and getting rid of the volunteers, some of whom have been there since it opened?
“Some of whom only have the cafe.”
A second wrote: “I’m going to miss volunteering there.”
In March we reported the Clydeside venue would be operating under revised opening hours.
This followed the announcement the cafe had been temporarily saved from closure in February in the hope of finding a new tenant.
It will remain open until May whilst this search continues.
The council noted the decision to lease this property came after the area’s Health and Social Care Partnership announced it would be withdrawing its management earlier this year.
Opened in 2019 as part of a £ 3.7 million regeneration of the venue, the coffee shop became a much- loved spot for park users.