‘Pain and regret’ as Chichester Cathedral confirms permanent close of café and staff redundancies

Due to the impact of the coronavirus lockdown, the cathedral, in June, announced plans for significant changes, with a six-week consultation phase taking place with staff members.

The consultation period, which also covered proposals to not re-open the shop, until the cathedral is able to accept a significant volume of visitors, has now come to an end.

The cathedral confirmed that; it will not re-open the café; the shop, in its current format and location, will be closed and there would be a ‘substantial reduction’ in the work of the current Learning and Engagement team and that the four existing posts ‘should be made redundant’.

This comes despite calls from Chichester residents for the cathedral to rethink the proposals, with some saying it would be a ‘huge mistake’. Read more hereA statement from The Dean of Chichester, The Very Reverend Stephen Waine, and Communar & Chief Executive David Coulthard read: “The outcomes we have agreed in response to the consultation announced in June are a source of pain and regret for us.

“The posts and people, as well as the activities that we are scaling back, have been an important part of the cathedral’s life and we would not have imagined, only four months ago, that we would be making these difficult decisions today.”

The cathedral also revealed that the café was ‘already an area of concern’, due to the increase of local competitors and decreasing footfall in Chichester resulting in a ‘steady decline of patrons’.

The statement continued: “Despite significant changes having been made to the way it was run, the summer months had to subsidise the winter months and overall the café was close to losing money.

“With the huge impact of the pandemic, and long-term social distancing meaning reduced capacity and footfall for the foreseeable future, the existing model for the café is no longer sustainable.”

The cathedral said, to keep the café open would cost a ‘substantial amount’.

“Running a heavily subsidised café is not the right thing for the cathedral to do,” they said.

“The cathedral will continue to provide a hospitable welcome to visitors and worshippers, but will not itself be able to provide refreshments.”

The cathedral’s shop will return in a new form ‘when the time is right’ and when the cathedral is ‘once again welcoming a substantial volume of visitors’.

When it re-opens it will be relocated into the cathedral and there are plans for it to be volunteer-led with ‘support from a reduced team in the office’.

Despite making four members of the current Learning and Engagement team redundant, a new post to ‘sustain and develop’ the cathedral’s work in this area will be established.

The cathedral said this was ‘in order to maintain important relationships with schools and visiting families’.

The statement continued: “This decision is to support the cathedral’s long-term financial sustainability, and also lay foundations for future ministry and engagement with fewer resources.

“Looking to the future, a new working group will be developed, in association with key partners, to explore how we can support the wider region.

“A School of Theology and Prayer will also be formed, serving the Diocese and beyond in equipping people for their apostolic life.

“We will continue to work with partners and charities and, while the pandemic may initially prevent some gatherings, we will host a revised schedule of events and activities if health and safety permits.

“This includes working with inter-faith partners, Amnesty International, and Stonepillow, to name but a few examples.”

The cathedral thanked those who submitted responses to the initial consultation announcement.

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