Cole Brothers Sheffield: New future for former John Lewis department store is confirmed

A new future for the former Cole Brothers in Sheffield city centre has been confirmed after a rush of applications from developers.
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There have been ‘15 or 16’ ‘credible and exciting’ bids for the Barker’s Pool building, according to Coun Mazher Iqbal, which means it will not stand empty.

He said: “We now know for definite we will have something on that site.”

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The car park, at right, is doomed, but the store itself is likely to stay in some form.The car park, at right, is doomed, but the store itself is likely to stay in some form.
The car park, at right, is doomed, but the store itself is likely to stay in some form.
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The deadline for bids has passed, but a final decision has been pushed back from summer to November due to the sheer number of applicants, he added.

It will be made by the committee he co-chairs: transport, regeneration and climate policy.

Coun Iqbal also said he favoured retaining or ‘part-retaining’ the building because the ‘city must deliver on its net-zero ambitions’, although demolition has not be ruled out. Sheffield City Council has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030.

The sales process comes after the shop shut last year with the loss of 299 jobs.The sales process comes after the shop shut last year with the loss of 299 jobs.
The sales process comes after the shop shut last year with the loss of 299 jobs.
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He added: “We would love to retain the building as it is. The last thing I want is for it to be demolished, although if something fits with the vision, then yes. But that is the least favourable option.”

But the car park, a structurally separate building, was ‘definitely coming down’ because it was ‘not safe and posed a risk’.

A city council report states it is ‘almost certainly redundant and difficult to convert’.

Coun Iqbal inside the shop with a wall of memories left by staff when the store closed.Coun Iqbal inside the shop with a wall of memories left by staff when the store closed.
Coun Iqbal inside the shop with a wall of memories left by staff when the store closed.

But heritage campaigner Robin Hughes says that would reduce the options and nothing should be done until there is a ‘firm and financed scheme’ for the site.

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The sales process comes after the shop shut last year with the loss of 299 jobs. The council bought it in 2020 and rented it back to the retailer in a bid to ensure it would stay open.

But six months later it closed for good, with John Lewis bosses claiming it had been hit by internet shopping and repeated lockdowns.

The 60-year-old building needs an upgrade running into tens of millions of pounds.The 60-year-old building needs an upgrade running into tens of millions of pounds.
The 60-year-old building needs an upgrade running into tens of millions of pounds.

A group of architects and historians has applied to Historic England to have the building listed because it is ‘historically and architecturally’ important and re-using it could be quicker, less disruptive and greener than ‘unsustainable demolition’. The bid includes the car park.

Sheffield City Council has put in a counter application for ‘immunity’ from listing.

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