Calls for dilapidated Old Town Hall to be restored

The former council and court building on Waingate has stood empty for decades

Campaigners say the dilapidated state of a former town hall and courthouse could put city centre regeneration plans at risk.

The Grade II-listed Old Town Hall in Waingate, Sheffield, has stood empty since 1995 and members of the Friends of The Old Town Hall group fear its messy appearance may scupper investment in the Castlegate redevelopment scheme.

Valerie Bayliss, chair of the group, has urged Sheffield City Council to help co-ordinate a plan to restore the building, which was recently put up for sale.

Councillor Janet Ridler welcomed news the site had been put on the market and said it could fulfil "its potential as a cornerstone of a regenerated Castlegate".

The former council and courthouse building was added to an updated City Centre Conservation Area at a planning and highways committee on Tuesday, meaning it has additional legal protection.

A spokesperson for the Friends of The Old Town Hall (FOTH) campaign said it was the site where victims of the Sheffield Flood in 1864 came for support and where much of the relief work following the Sheffield Blitz in 1940 was organised.

They added that it was also where trials of striking miners in connection with the coal strike of 1984 spectacularly collapsed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The regeneration of the Castlegate site includes creating a park and events space

Ms Bayliss said the group believed that failing to restore the site would detract from the council's development plans for Castlegate, which is set to become a public park with a 500-person event space.

"It continues to be an unholy mess really, something's got to be done," she said.

However, she estimated the cost of restoring the building could be up to £30m.

"We're not naive, we know it's not realistic for the council to purchase it and try to restore it," she said.

"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, a heritage champion at the council, said the building had been put on the market for sale at auction later in the year.

"This represents an exciting opportunity for the right buyer to restore and bring back into use this unique and important grade II listed building, which sits within 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."

Several redevelopment projects have been put forward in the past, most recently in 2019 for serviced apartments, shops, cafes and "pod" hotel rooms.

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