‘Treat it with respect’: Plea from Shrewsbury park’s café over large gatherings causing noise, litter and damage

A café in a Shrewsbury park has issued a plea for help from the community after large ‘intimidating’ gatherings have been causing damage, litter and noise with “loud parties”.

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The Quarry Kitchen say they are “reaching out” for a little help from the local community regarding the ongoing issues at The Quarry.

Taking to social media, the café said gatherings of up to 100 people were causing issues.

The café said: “Unfortunately, we’re increasingly struggling with large groups gathering in our garden, often from around 4pm, while we are still open and serving our customers, continuing into the evening.

“In the last week alone, we estimate that over 100 people have gathered in large groups between 4pm and midnight.

“This isn’t simply a case of people sitting and enjoying the space.

“We are continuing to find evidence of damage, litter, loud parties and other issues.

“One of our biggest concerns is the impact this is having on our team. These gatherings often begin while we are still open, meaning our staff are trying to run a business, serve customers and carry out their jobs while large groups congregate outside. The loud music and sheer volume of people gathering can be genuinely intimidating for our team, and it’s not fair that they should feel uncomfortable or unsafe in their own workplace.”

The café said they had installed CCTV in the hope of addressing the problem, but unfortunately, they were still experiencing issues.

“We’re not asking people to stop using our space. We’re simply asking for respect,” they said. “Please take your rubbish with you, don’t leave broken glass behind, don’t damage or move our benches, don’t bring speakers and play music on our premises, and please don’t use our property as a place to gather for parties or consume drugs.

“Our team works hard to create a welcoming place for people to enjoy, and clearing up broken glass and potentially dangerous items is not something anyone should have to deal with before opening or while serving customers.”

The café continued: “If you live locally, walk through the Quarry or regularly enjoy the area, please help us spread the word. If you witness these issues, please report them through the appropriate channels, be that the park rangers or 101 depending what you witness.

“If you know someone who is using the space potentially for the wrong reasons, please remind them that it belongs to a local independent business and deserves to be treated with respect.

“We want to keep the benches, garden and covered area available for everyone to enjoy. We don’t want to put up barriers or remove things more than we already have that make this space useful to the community, and we certainly don’t want to take away a sheltered spot that can be helpful to people sleeping rough.

“We simply want our property to be treated with respect, our staff to feel safe at work, and our community to have a space everyone can enjoy.”