Plans for new community grocery and cafe at former Lincoln social club

Proposals have been submitted to the city council for a new community grocery and public cafe at the site of a disused bar and social club in Lincoln.

The most recent occupant of Beaumont Manor on Beaumont Fee in Lincoln was the UNISON social club but since becoming vacant the grade II listed building, which is believed to have been built in the mid-19th century, has fallen into minor disrepair.

Simon Hawking, CEO of the Acts Trust, recently submitted a change of use application and intends for the new scheme to “revive the character of the building and repair its existing fabric”. The building is predominantly two storeys, with both expansive attic and basement space.

Beaumont Manor in Lincoln. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

This comes after The Lincoln Community Grocery opened on the High Street in October last year in partnership with Alive Church Lincoln, Acts Trust and The Message Trust, to help people in the city who are struggling financially to cut the cost of a weekly food shop.

The new plans, submitted to City of Lincoln Council last month, seek to repair and convert the building to a community grocery and provide a public cafe for the local community, whilst keeping with the heritage of the site.

Hand sketch proposed visual of another room at the new community grocery and cafe. | Photo: Guy Taylor Associates

The majority of works needed will take place internally, with the the bar area being converted into a servery and cafe. The only demolition works to take place will be the addition of a new opening within one room, to provide an accessible WC for the public and also a separate female toilet adjacent to it.

The footprint of the Manor House has remained unchanged since 1880, according to the Design & Access Statement, which was prepared on behalf of Focus Group Ltd & The Lincoln Community Grocery.

John Hayward is the oldest recorded occupant of the property. He was born in Lincoln in 1791 and during the 1851 UK Census, when he was 60-years-old, he lived as the head of Beaumont Manor House.