Ice cream family loses familiar city pitch

Granelli’s was founded by Luigi Granelli when he moved to England from Italy in 1874 and has been selling the ice cream at Millhouses Park, Sheffield, since the firm used a pony and trap.

When Luigi Granelli died, the business was taken over by his sons Charles and Peter and is now run by Charles’s daughter Rosita Hunt, and her son, Julian, 27.

She said: “We are very, very upset.

“Not only does this decision make things very difficult for us from a business point of view, but historically we have been established there such a long time.

“We see children come here with their parents and then when they grow up they bring their children back here.”

Sheffield Council said the decision was part of new procurement rules which offer park concessions out to tender.

Paul Billington, Sheffield Council’s director of culture and environment, said: “The council has been through a fair and open tendering process.

“The concessions are important because they provide a valuable service to parks users but also the fees paid to the council by the operators are an important source of income to help run the city’s parks.”