Green light recommended for Sheffield’s Cole Brothers
The transformation of the grade two-listed Brutalist former department store into a mixed-use scheme being delivered by Urban Splash is set for approval at the council’s planning meeting next week.
Plans lodged last September show that the developer intends to have leisure, entertainment, and retail space on the lower and ground floors, with the upper floors converted into offices.
Located in the centre of town, Sheffield City Council acquired the freehold lease for the building from John Lewis when it closed the store in 2022.
Urban Splash won the bid to transform the landmark and former home of John Lewis in 2021, and has worked with architect AHMM and CBRE on the scheme.
It is seen as the last remaining puzzle piece of the city’s £470m Heart of the City project and the report from the council states: “The Heart of the City regeneration scheme is now just about complete.
“This project has seen a huge transformational change to the city centre and this building is in the centre with the regeneration taking place on all sides.
“Bringing it back into use is a fundamental part of these regeneration works presenting high levels of public benefit.”
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- All images courtesy of Urban Splash
The grade two-listed 1963 building will also have a rooftop terrace, making that space accessible to the public for the first time.
The existing rooftop plant room will be converted into a restaurant or bar with external terrace, accessed directly from ground level via the main lift core.
The existing car park structure will be maintained but with the 400-plus current spaces reduced to 190, with 40 spaces for people working in the offices and 150 for visitors to other parts of the building.
The recommendation overrules concerns raised by Historic England, The Twentieth Century Society, and Hallamshire Historic Buildings, who believe the development will potentially harm the protected building.
