Councillors to get briefing on Engine Shed

City councillors are to be briefed on the fate of charity-run cafe and bakery the Engine Shed after the News revealed its future was uncertain.

The business, which has been running for nearly 25 years, provides training opportunities for the disabled, but a shake- up could see it lose £211,200 of annual funding from the city council. The move has sparked an outcry from parents who say that working for the charity has been a life-changing experience for their children.

Conservative group leader, Councillor Cameron Rose, who arranged Monday’s briefing, said: “Knowing some of the people who have found support and employment there, and knowing its business model, I have always thought it does an excellent job.

“Management have worked hard to move it as far as possible to a self-funding role with emphasis on identifying and supplying markets with the produce from the bakery where many Engine Shed 
people work.”