Sheffield Town Hall revamp and refurbishment may take more than half a decade to complete
Councillors had had an update on plans to restore the iconic Grade I listed building
The plans for refurbishing Sheffield Town Hall may take more than half a decade and between £20m and £50m.
As widely reported, Sheffield City Council wants to restore the town hall, the iconic 19th century Grade I listed building that was opened by Queen Victoria, as “it’s clearly showing its age”.
A document to support the plans noted that whilst the building has been maintained and remains structurally sound and safe, the building has a number of issues. These include:
• Accessibility, building fabric, fire safety, mechanical and electrical services and structural issues
• Redundant, dilapidated and underutilised spaces
• Outdated services and facilities
• Deteriorating heritage
A 2022 study estimated that the total cost of the revamp would be between £20m and £50m.
Since 2018, the report added, a series of localised reactive emergency works have been necessary because of continued building failure to secure the safety of occupants and prevent partial or full closure of the building.
These have included repairs and restoration of the main atrium structure and fire safety works.
There continues to be new building failures requiring management and risk mitigation, including most recently the ongoing review of the original 1897 windows.
A commission concluded that town hall “requires major repair works to address the severe compliance, defects and backlog maintenance issues to improve building efficiencies, preserve historic and heritage features, and prevent further deterioration”.
At the strategy and resources policy meeting, Tom Smith, the director of customers and communities, confirmed that the town hall was safe and structurally sound but “it is currently showing its age”.
He listed a few issues from heating (or the lack thereof) and accessibility to the fabric of the building.
Members of the committee praised the building and expressed their support for the work proposed to help it be more accessible and used by the people of Sheffield and others who may have business there.
Rebecca Nixon from the council told the members that town hall was underutilised and they knew they could get more out of the building.
In terms of timescales, she added they could only look at precedent – towards other town hall restorations across the country – at the moment, and Ms Nixon said based on that the design may take two-and-a-half years or three years and the construction three and three and a half years.
Members voted in favour of the recommendation and the process to refurbish the town hall can begin.