Calls for dilapidated Old Town Hall to be restored.
Campaigners warn the deteriorating state of a former town hall and courts could jeopardise city centre reconstruction efforts.
The Grade II-listed Old Town Hall in Waingate, Sheffield, has been vacant since 1995, and members of the Friends of the Old Town Hall group are concerned that its disorganised look could jeopardise investment in the Castlegate redevelopment initiative.
Valerie Bayliss, the group’s chair, has encouraged Sheffield City Council to assist in coordinating a restoration plan for the building, which was recently listed for sale.
Councillor Janet Ridler welcomed the news that the site had been put on the market, saying it might fulfil “its potential as a cornerstone of a regenerated Castlegate”.
The former council and courthouse building was included to an upgraded City Centre Conservation Area on Tuesday by a planning and highways committee, giving it more legal protection.
A representative for the Friends of The Old Town Hall (FOTH) campaign stated that it was the site where victims of the Sheffield Flood in 1864 sought assistance, as well as where most of the relief effort following the Sheffield Blitz in 1940 was organised.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, it was also where striking miners’ trials in connection with the 1984 coal strike failed tragically.
SCC/Keltbray
Ms Bayliss stated that the group feared that failure to restore the site would detract from the council’s development plans for Castlegate, which are intended to include a public park and a 500-person event area. “It continues to be an unholy mess really, something’s got to be done,” she told me.
However, she projected that the cost of rehabilitating the building could reach £30 million. “We’re not naive, we know it’s not realistic for the council to purchase it and try to restore it,” she told the crowd.
“Their leadership role in the city means that they’re the only organisation that can get commercial and heritage interests together to put a plan together.” Ridler, the council’s historic champion, stated that the building has been listed for auction later this year.
“This is an intriguing opportunity for the right buyer to restore and repurpose this unusual and significant grade II listed building, which is located inside the newly designated City Centre Conservation Area.”
I look forward to the Old Town Hall fulfilling its potential as a cornerstone of a regenerated Castlegate.”
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