New plans for £5m restaurant and bar complex as long-running cafe demolition saga drags on

Proposals have long been in the pipeline to knock down the crumbling and subsiding cafe in Sandall Park and replace it with a brand new building overlooking the lake.

But the scheme has become bogged down in planning delays and red tape and has now been dragging on for eight years after proposals were first mooted in 2015.

A previously approved plan has now been resubmitted to City of Doncaster Council for work on the building and car park to begin.

The plan was initally given the go-ahead by councillors in February 2020 – but Covid brought a stop to the scheme.

The building will offer views over the park’s lake and developers hope it will attract thousands of extra visitors to the Wheatley park each year.

Original proposals suggested the building would be able to provide 150 food covers, new public toilets, improved kitchen and food preparation facilities and better disabled access.

The space will also provide better use for clubs and societies in the community.

The applicants have previously said that expansion of the business could lead to job creation from 10 to 40 jobs at the cafe, which first opened in 1956.

Public consultation about the plan is now open and anyone interested has until August 25 to make representations to Doncaster Council.

The planning reference number is 23/01110/FULM.