Council pledges to restore historic Sheffield Town Hall to secure its future
The grade I-listed building is in desperate need of refurbishment
A decision to move forward with a plan to secure the long-term future of Sheffield Town Hall was described as a “really significant moment” by the leader of the council.
The grade I-listed building is in desperate need of refurbishment. The council wants to make the building more accessible and welcoming for everyone who visits or works in it, as well as imagining what else it could be used for.
Members of Sheffield City Council’s key strategy and resources committee this week (December 10) approved a road map to create “a restored, refurbished and sustainable Town Hall” at an estimated cost of £340-420 million.
Town hall programme lead Rebecca Nixon said that the plan could secure the building for generations to come. She said that presently 9% of the town hall is closed and 10% is only used for storage.
The heating system is 70 years old and well beyond its life expectancy, she added. A report to the committee said that the cost of emergency repairs has averaged £700,000 a year since 2022 and it rises every year.
Ms Nixon said: “We know the building feels unwelcoming to the public and isolating to those who work here.”
She added: “The town hall is one of only five grade I-listed buildings in Sheffield. We need to recognise that, restore it and open it up to the people of Sheffield.
“It should be more than just a backdrop, it should be at the heart of city life.”
Councillors also heard from specialist conservation architects Geoff Rich and Jess Evans from FCBStudios. Locally, they have worked on the Cambridge Street Collective food hall and neighbouring Leah’s Yard, which turned historic Little Mester’s workshops in the city centre into shops and studios.
Mr Rich said: “I am truly honoured to be working on restoring the town hall.”
The architects went through a briefing on their ideas for the building. They want to preserve the historic fabric and make it energy efficient and cheaper to run.
The aim is to make the building into a place people feel welcome in and want to visit, as well as a better workplace and council headquarters. They aim to identify commercial opportunities which could contribute to the running costs and upkeep.
A team of University of Sheffield masters degree architecture students have been working alongside the architects.
They have run a project taking an exhibition about the town hall on tour around the city to give Sheffielders a chance to say what is special about the building to them and what they want to see in future. The students also ran an event in the town hall.
As a long scroll showing drawings of ideas unfurled behind her, student Maria Christodoulou said: “The overarching aspiration is for a building that feels alive, inclusive and firmly rooted in the life of the city once again.”
Coun Martin Smith said he was impressed by the presentation but asked: “£0.5bn is an awful lot of money. What level of contingency have we got within that £0.5bn?”
Director of regeneration and development Sean Mcclean replied that the cost is currently estimated at between £340-420m, with a lot of contingencies built in. He said that several surveys would be undertaken to fully understand all the issues with the building.
He said that the team who worked on the transformation of Manchester Town Hall are giving the benefit of their experience.
Coun Fran Belbin said: “It’s clear that there’s some stuff that we have to do in terms of accessibility and health and safety that is the absolute baseline.”
She added: “This building belongs to the people of Sheffield and that’s come across really clearly. They really want to be part of this building and feel that it’s theirs as well.”
Coun Dawn Dale said she met a grandmother and grandson who had come into the building for a look around and gave them a tour. “That really did point out to me that this is a building that we have to maintain and develop for future generations.”
Coun Angela Argenzio said it was exciting to see how creative ideas for the building could still maintain the integrity of its heritage, which is the key thing.
Coun Zahira Naz said: “As finance chair, my priority is make sure every £ we spend delivers long-term value for the people of Sheffield.
“Preserving our town hall isn’t just about investing in a civic building, it’s about preserving a historic building, it’s about investing in a civic asset that belongs to all of us.”
She said that bringing in energy efficiency is important, adding: “It’s about respecting this city’s history but also about respecting the taxpayers.”
Coun Abdul Khayum commented: “It’s good to see you’re respecting the diversity of voices. As well as accessibility and being welcoming to diverse communities, it should reflect the diverse communities.”
Coun Hunt said: “For nearly 130 years this building has been at the beating heart of Sheffield’s civic life.
“The people who were here for those early meetings in 1897and 1898 would recognise what we are doing here today. This has been the centrepiece of our democracy ever since it was built and I think that our heritage is living and breathing.
“We are the custodians now of the building for the city of Sheffield and we do want to pass it on to be the building that it deserves to continue to be – the beating heart of our city’s civic life.”
CounCoun Hunt added that the vote on the plan was “a really significant moment”.