May 11th, 2026

Sheffield Winter Gardens Natural Stone Paving Deep Cleaned by Go-Gum Group Ahead of World Snooker Championships

Maximum Break: Sheffield Winter Gardens Deep Cleaned to Perfection Ahead of the Snooker

Every May, the eyes of the snooker world turn to Sheffield. The World Snooker Championships at the Crucible Theatre is one of sport’s most iconic annual events, attracting thousands of visitors and television audiences of millions. Just a short cue’s length from the Crucible itself, the Sheffield Winter Gardens forms a key part of the wider venue, welcoming spectators, media and TV crews throughout the tournament. Before the cameras rolled and the crowds arrived, however, there was one important job left on the table — a thorough deep clean of the Winter Gardens’ natural stone paving, carried out by the Go-Gum Group on behalf of Amey PLC and Sheffield City Council.

With the World Snooker Championships just one week away, the Go-Gum Group’s street scene subsidiary Surface Solve Ltd was brought in to deep clean the internal natural stone flag paving throughout the Winter Gardens. The indoor setting, however, meant this was no straightforward clean. Working inside a covered public space required a careful, considered approach — the kind of precise, methodical work that would not have looked out of place on the baize itself.

The principal challenge was water management. In an outdoor environment, water runoff from a Go-Gum Lanceman DiBO street cleaning machine disperses naturally, but inside the Winter Gardens, standing water and uncontrolled drainage presented a real risk to the surrounding infrastructure and surfaces. To counter this, the team worked in small, carefully defined sections, using the DiBO to deliver a low pressure steam clean — with no chemicals whatsoever — before immediately following up with a wet vacuum to recover all water from the cleaned area before moving on. It was a disciplined, methodical process, but one that delivered a flawless result.

To keep disruption to an absolute minimum and ensure the Winter Gardens remained open and fully operational during the day, all three nights of cleaning were carried out during night time hours. A team of two operatives worked each night shift, one operating the DiBO, one managing the wet vacuum, methodically working their way across the floor sections until every section had been cleaned to the high standard the occasion demanded.

Commenting on the project, Rob Dixon, Managing Director of the Go-Gum Group said: “This was a job that required real precision and discipline from our team. Working indoors, at night, with strict water management protocols and a hard championship deadline to meet — there was no margin for error. Our operatives potted every ball. The Winter Gardens looked immaculate and we were delighted to play our part in one of Sheffield’s most celebrated annual events.”