**Legal Battle and Bullying Claims Divide Cardiff’s Bute Park Cafes**
A heated dispute in Cardiff’s iconic Bute Park has erupted into a legal confrontation, with former park manager Dr Julia Sas pursuing Cardiff Council for £55,000 over allegations of constructive dismissal. At the centre of the row are claims of bullying, acrimonious WhatsApp exchanges, and a polarising campaign involving two of the park’s best-known cafés.
Dr Sas, who first joined the Bute Park team as a project manager in 2009 and later took on the managerial role in 2014, stepped down in June 2023. She accuses the Council of failing to protect her against a “campaign of misinformation” spearheaded, she claims, by Melissa Boothman, owner of the Secret Garden café. This alleged lack of action, she argues, forced her into resignation.
The employment tribunal hearing the case has heard testimony from David Le Masurier, a prominent Cardiff baker and former operator of the Pettigrew tea room, which was based in Bute Park until its closure earlier this year. Le Masurier alleges Boothman sought to undermine Dr Sas’s authority, recruiting allies and encouraging personal attacks through social media and messaging channels. He describes behaviour that, in his view, veered into orchestrated attempts to “whip up a mob” against the then park manager.
Central to the dispute is the Secret Garden café’s five-year lease, which began in 2018, and the council’s subsequent decision not to extend the lease directly, opting instead for a competitive tender. Boothman’s efforts to rally public support during this tense period included fundraising, community activities such as planting a “community orchard,” and running high-profile social media campaigns. Boothman was notably praised locally for her response to vandalism in the park, but behind the scenes, emails and WhatsApp messages reveal tensions ran high between café management and park authorities.
Evidence presented at the tribunal included WhatsApp messages sent by Boothman to other Bute Park tenants, in which she criticised Dr Sas’s approach to meetings, describing it as unsupportive and overly directive. In another message, Boothman provided contact details for Dr Sas’s new manager, urging other tenants to escalate their concerns if dissatisfied. Dr Sas maintains such communications, alongside social media posts, intended to undermine her position and reputation, exacerbating an already fraught relationship between cafés and council oversight.
According to Mr Le Masurier, these exchanges painted an unjust and misleading picture of Dr Sas, whom he describes as a highly professional and procedural manager. He claims that the group messages resembled a “witch hunt,” creating an unhealthy and divisive atmosphere within the park community. Responding to what he saw as targeted efforts to damage Dr Sas’s credibility, Le Masurier took the step of contacting council leadership directly, yet reports his concerns were not adequately addressed.
Amid ongoing tensions, the council determined that the operation of the Secret Garden café should go to public tender, citing legal advice and a change from a traditional leasing arrangement to a management deal. Boothman’s customers responded fervently, with over 13,500 signing a petition to halt the council’s plans. The café’s media presence ramped up the pressure, highlighting charitable contributions and investments made by the business, and raising the spectre of potential job losses.
As the dispute escalated, Dr Sas alleges her workload became dominated by freedom of information requests, complaints, and media inquiries. The additional stress, which she traces to the campaign led against her, led to her being signed off on medical grounds on occasions, and she continued to experience anxiety and difficulties even after being redeployed within the council.
The council, for its part, has strongly denied any suggestion that Boothman’s messaging or the Secret Garden’s social media activity amounted to a personal campaign against Dr Sas. Legal filings state that criticisms were directed solely at the council, not at individuals. It was also revealed that a “stress-risk assessment” had been put in place for Dr Sas during the controversy, and the council stands by its handling of her grievances and related procedures.
In the wake of her resignation, Dr Sas stated that multiple failures by the council to adhere to internal protocols had made her position intolerable. Two months after she quit, a senior council officer admitted there had been “shortcomings” in the resolution process but insisted the original findings would stand regardless.
As the employment tribunal awaits a final judgment, the saga has highlighted the friction that can arise when business interests, public service, and community passions collide in one of Wales’s best-loved green spaces. With none of the key players willing to comment while proceedings are ongoing, Bute Park’s cafés – and the public who frequent them – remain caught in the middle of a complex and emotional legal storm.