Plans for tea room and cafe at gallery at Hyndburn tourist attraction (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Plans for tea room and cafe at gallery at Hyndburn tourist attraction
12:00pm Tuesday 28th August 2012 in News
By Emma Cruces, Reporter
PLANS to open a cafe and tea room at a top Hyndburn tourist attraction have been announced.
Accrington’s Haworth Art Gallery has not served food since 2005, when the charitable organisation which ran the cafe pulled out.
For the past seven years, the gallery has only been able to offer a self-service hot drinks machine.
A business report in 2009 said food service at the gallery was ‘crucial’ to improving visitor numbers, but that a business was not commercially viable.
However, longer opening hours at the gallery have attracted the interest of a caterer. The business is in the early stages of negotiating a long-term lease with the gallery’s trustee, Hyndburn Council.
Council leader Miles Parkinson said a catered tea room would be the finishing touch the gallery needs.
He said: “The Haworth is an asset to the borough and we want to make the most of it.
“The activities provide a real draw for visitors and the Tiffany glass collection is a feather in our cap. If we can do the gallery justice by adding a catered tea room, we should do all we can.”
Vladimir Pejcinovic, at the gallery, said: “Miles is a big supporter of the gallery and he’s been involved for some time with our plan to provide tea rooms. Once the details are arranged, it will provide a much better visitor experience.”
The Haworth, housed in the Grade II-listed former Hollins Hill mansion, boasts the largest collec-tion of Tiffany glass outside the US.
The gallery also offers workshops with artists, and numerous exhibitions throughout the year.
Recently, the gallery has undergone a revamp, with a new rose garden, and gates based on the original design of the house.
The council is to provide a lease to the interested catering business allowing it the security to make an investment.
Before proceeding with the lease, however, the council will first have to hold public consultation, and gather feedback to satisy Charity Commission requirements.
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