Cole Brothers Sheffield: People have their say on future of old John Lewis as 'exciting' proposals announced

A new department store, flats, bars and restaurants, and an NHS walk-in centre are among the public’s suggestions for how to breathe new life into the landmark building on Barker’s Pool, which was originally home to Cole Brothers department store.

Sheffield Council announced this week that six proposals to regenerate the building, which has been sitting empty since John Lewis closed the branch in 2021, have been shortlisted. The council, which is selling the Grade II-listed building on a 250-year lease, described them all as ‘high-quality proposals’ from experienced developers but declined to give any details of the various plans in contention. It said a final decision on the preferred bidder was set to be made ‘as soon as possible’ after May’s local elections.

The announcement has sparked huge debate among Star readers about the best way to bring the building back to life. One person said ‘call me old fashioned but a department store would be great’, while another commented: “We must be the only UK city without a major department store! No disrespect to Atkinsons.”

But others expressed doubts whether a new department store was viable, with one person saying ‘our department stores closed because not enough people used them regularly enough’ and another saying that with ‘shoppers deserting the city centre in their thousands’ a department store would ‘never turn a profit’. The future of the old Debenhams store on The Moor has yet to be decided but there are hopes that could be revived as a shop.

Several people suggested converting the building into flats was the most likely and most profitable outcome, but there were mixed views about that happening. Some commenters said there were already enough flats in the city centre but one person said ‘booming’ Manchester showed what could be achieved by turning to a ‘residential focus’ for the city centre.

Other suggestions ranged from a museum or NHS walk-in centre to a new market. One person wrote: “Make it an NHS walk in centre with proper facilities as people keep saying they can't get in at doctors. Put a minimal charge of 50p per hour for the car park so that will help pay for it.”

Another person commented: “Get markets on one or two floors bars and restaurants on rest. Market is useless on The Moor.”

In a similar vein, another commenter wrote: “Ground floor cafes making Barker’s Pool a great entertainment square. Lower ground, a supermarket. Floors one to two retail. Floors three and top floor leisure.”

One person asked: “What about finally getting around to sorting a new modern central library before the present one crumbles to dust?” Another suggested a ‘massive museum space’, to which someone replied ‘that would be great, expanding on the exhibits in the Millennium Gallery’.

Despite the building now having protected status some people still advocated demolition. One person wrote: “Best option is to flatten it. Make space with benches, few trees and some pop-up shops or temporary space for events. Even the ugliest village in Germany or France has a bigger town square than Sheffield now.”

Following the debacle with the Container Park at the top of Fargate, meanwhile, a number of wags inevitably suggested using the building to store ‘unwanted shipping containers’.