Sheffield: Plan to revive Grade II-listed Adelphi cinema approved

The cinema closed in the late 1967 and was later used as a nightclub and bingo hall

An historic Sheffield cinema is to be brought back into public use after councillors approved plans to buy it.

Sheffield Council will purchase the Grade II-listed Adelphi, which also had former lives as a nightclub and bingo hall but has been shuttered since 2006.

The council plans to turn the building into a cultural hub to bring "new life and a sense of pride" to the area.

It will use some of the £37m government levelling-up funds allocated to the city to buy and refurbish the site.

The authority is in already in talks with potential occupiers interested in renting the Adelphi, off Attercliffe Road, for community use.

Negotiations with the current owners have also begun, though the council has said it would use a compulsory purchase order to force the sale if no agreement is reached.

Alan Seasman, the council's regeneration manager, however told a finance subcommittee meeting on Monday talks were progressing and he did not expect an expensive legal battle over the site would be needed.

He added there were other "important" buildings on Attercliffe's faded high street that the council could look to acquire as it seeks to transform the area.

Darnall councillor Mary Lea said reviving the Adelphi was "part of the jigsaw" of regenerating Attercliffe, which has been allocated £17m of the city's levelling-up money.

"For people down there the Adelphi would have been the place to go at once point," she added. "There is a lot of love for that theatre."

The Adelphi opened in 1920 and operated as a cinema until 1967. The striking art deco building later hosted Sheffield's famous Gatecrasher club nights, among other events, and was also used as a music teaching centre.

It sat empty from 2006 until 2013 and has since been used only for storage.