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Catering call as new Roundhay Mansion centre prepares to open
Roundhay Mansion's new £1.9m visitor and education centre will officially open later this month. Click here for more details.
The new facilities include education rooms for schools and community groups, a visitor shop, an exhibition on the history and geology of the park, interactive displays and public toilets.
But the vacant ground floor and first floor have not been renovated and the council is still looking for an operator to run a cafe-restaurant and function rooms.
Although many caterers have shown an interest, they have been deterred by the costs of adapting and re-fitting the Grade II listed building.
In an attempt to encourage more tenders, the council's executive board
recently decided to offer financial help with up-front refurbishment costs.
Local councillor, Matthew Lobley (Cons, Roundhay), will perform the opening ceremony on November 22.
He said: "I have had a look around and am very impressed with the work that
has been done - the new additions have been dealt with sensitively
and complement the grand old building that we all know so well.
"I hope that the facilities being provided will allow us to learn even more about the Mansion, the park and the history of the area.
"Now we must face the challenge of finding a catering business who can do the building justice by providing high quality food and functions all year round.
"The decision taken by the executive board was the right one and extra money for restoring the building will go a long way to helping us in this mission."
The outside of the Mansion has already been given a facelift in a 1.8m project and a major improvement scheme for the 700-acre park has also been carried out.
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Friday 18 May 2012
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