Keep Ladywell Fields Current "Affordable Cafe" Operator

Ladywell Fields is a Green Flag Award park in the borough of Lewisham, in South East London.

Users of the park comprise walkers and cyclists using the Waterlink Way, recuperating patients from the nearby hospital, unemployed, pensioners and dog-walkers, young families using the adjacent play areas, groups of youngsters river dipping and all manner of sports people, particularly roller skaters and skate-boarders.

At the north end of Ladywell Fields a basic cafe has existed for over 6 years, run by a lovely gentleman named Glen.

Glen has got to know the requirements of the park users and has cut his cloth accordingly. He is something of an endangered species nowadays as he honestly believes in providing a good cheap service for a modest profit. For example, a cup of tea and a slice of scrumptious homemade cake costs only £1.70. This would cost nearer to £5 in other cafes in the area.

His customers really apreciate the affordability of the cafe and Glen's warm and friendly presence in the park.

Over the last year or so plans have been put forward by the Council to refurbish the building and upgrade the cafe facilities. However, Glen has been kept on the margin of such proposals and, if the plan goes ahead, he would effectively be priced out: he would lose his livelihood and the park would lose its affordable cafe, as whoever wins the tender has to invest a substantial amount of money in re-furbishing the building and in this way be obliged to claw back the money by increasing the cafe's prices.

Glen and his customers are really demoralised by this whole process, neither of them want this much loved low-key affordable cafe turned into a fancy style patisserie selling food at higher prices.

Within a couple of minutes walk, in Ladywell Village, there already exist two more up-market cafes. The beauty of Ladywell and Glen's Cafe is that it caters for a diverse population. A third similar venture in the park would create competition to the 2 existing cafes and price out many park users from having refreshments in a lovely park setting. For those who want a more up-market facility in the park, there already exists a cafe within short walking distance: Pistachio in the Park on Hilly Fields.

Please sign this petition to ask the Council to sit down with Glen and mutually agree a reasonable level of investment for the builiding and its future maintenace. So that Glen's livelihood is secure for the foreseable future and an affordable cafe is kept in Ladywell Fields.