The city council said it has “no current plans” for the Pump House with the popular café due to close its doors at the weekend.

The Pump House in Worcester’s Gheluvelt Park will close for good on Saturday (September 30) with the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust leaving the building after more than 20 years.

The trust will return the building to its landlord Worcester City Council which said it had “no current plans” for the building and would be “exploring its options.”

Future tenants of the Pump House could soon be reaping the benefits of being at the foot of the new multi-million-pound Kepax bridge running across the River Severn from Gheluvelt Park into the former landfill site in St John’s.

The Duckworth Worcestershire Trust was established 25 years ago by Cecil Duckworth, who died in 2020, and has been based in Pump House Environment Centre since 2001.

But despite running a popular café at the Pump House, the trust has been unable to cover the costs of being in the building.

The Duckworth Worcestershire Trust was also forced to close Worcestershire Resource Exchange last year because of cost pressures.

Last month, Cecil’s widow Beatrice Duckworth said: "The lease for the Pump House is up for renewal and Cecil's endowment has also come to an end and it is with great regret that we, the trustees, feel we should leave the Pump House.”

Over the years the trust has worked with volunteers to remove litter and graffiti, create community gardens and play areas, and ran a resource exchange that helped reduce waste going to landfills.