Petition to save hot chips put forward to Shire of Harvey after Leschenault Leisure Centre cafe closes

Residents in the Shire of Harvey have rallied together to save their beloved post-swim hot chips following the decision to shut the cafe at the Leschenault Leisure Centre. Brunswick resident Jamay Sullivan presented a petition to council during last week’s ordinary council meeting and said it had received 650 signatures. “I’ve personally spoken to over 400 people and everyone’s quite upset that they won’t be able to have their hot chips after their swim or basketball,” she said. Ms Sullivan said the cafe was important to the community because it built relationships and family traditions. When asked by Ms Sullivan why the shire wouldn’t lease out the cafe to a third party, communities and lifestyle director Suzie Haslehurst said the cafe was in need of upgrades. “At the moment, significant investment would be needed to be able to bring it up to a standard where we could outsource it,” she said. Ms Haslehurst said the option to outsource had been previously explored but was unsuccessful, with part of the reason being the location of the cafe. “An external operator would have no pass-by traffic to rely on, as well as the centre traffic,” she said. She said the shire had tried to engage a food and beverage supervisor in the past two years to help build the cafe’s business but was unsuccessful. Shire president Michelle Campbell said planning as part of the expansion of the LLC might look to include a future cafe. She said the cafe had been making a significant loss and the council had to be “fiscally responsible” in its decision-making. “We’ve determined that the ratepayer would not be happy with the significant amount of loss that the cafe had been making,” she said. Alternative food and beverage options were being explored by the shire, with the cafe trading for the final time on November 29.