Cole Brothers: New council leader Tom Hunt once called for John Lewis building to house council flats

The new leader of Sheffield City Council will chair the meeting on the future of the former Cole Brothers and John Lewis building - and once called for it to be a cultural hub and council flats.
By David Walsh
Published 7th Jun 2023, 05:00 GMT
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Tom Hunt is chair of the Strategy and Resources Committee, which meets on Wednesday, June 28 to choose a buyer for the Barker’s Pool building. He became leader last month after Terry Fox was forced out by Labour high command.

So far, no details of the six developers or their proposals have leaked out. But an article in The Star gives an insight into his potential preference.

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In 2021, in his capacity as a Sheffield University researcher, he co-authored a piece which praised the conversion of a former department store in Paris to include council flats.

A view of the building from Barker's Pool showing how new cafes and restaurants on the ground floor could expand out to provide outdoor seating in the square . By Tom Hunt and Adam Park.A view of the building from Barker's Pool showing how new cafes and restaurants on the ground floor could expand out to provide outdoor seating in the square . By Tom Hunt and Adam Park.
A view of the building from Barker's Pool showing how new cafes and restaurants on the ground floor could expand out to provide outdoor seating in the square . By Tom Hunt and Adam Park.

It said: "Three new floors now contain 96 publicly-owned apartments. If Paris can have low-cost, affordable homes at the heart of one of the world’s most expensive cities, why not Sheffield?”

The piece also asked whether it could house ‘a new, modern Central Library and City Archives’ and said Graves Gallery was a ‘prime example of a gallery that deserves a much more accessible home’.

It opined: “A new arts and cultural hub in Barker’s Pool in a building feels like a good fit to us.”

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The department store was previously home to Cole Brothers. It has been empty since John Lewis closed the branch in 2021, with the loss of 299 jobs. It was Grade II listed last summer.

Owner Sheffield Council is selling it on a 250-year lease.