Former rough pub in Sheffield turned into upscale apartments

Efe Omu is close to completing the revamp of the former Cannon Pub on Castle Street, creating three large apartments, with two shop units on the ground floor.

They have ‘his and hers’ sinks, ensuite bathrooms and Farrow and Ball painted kitchens. Original features in the 1903 building have been retained including stone mullioned windows and a staircase.

The Cannon was a notoriously rough pub, with guest rooms upstairs and a nightclub in the basement. It had been closed for 10 years.

Mr Omu said when he took possession wallets and bank cards fell from light fittings in the toilets, pointing to criminal activity when it was open.

He plans to put the apartments on the market in autumn, but hasn’t decided whether to sell or rent, partly due to uncertainty from the pandemic.

He said: “It’s a big risk. It’s been really hard to restore but we’ve done everything, even thermally insulating the walls.

“It would be nice to retain them in some capacity because it’s a beautiful building. It would be hard to come back in a few years and see everything different or see it neglected.

“But the planning process was not protracted at all.”

Mr Omu said he makes a point of using local tradespeople including self-employed wall and floor tiler Ian Earnshaw, Plaster Scene on Valley Road, Kirby Electrical, which also made and fitted the fire doors on site, and Crookes and Sons Joinery.

The Cannon building is next to the new Kollider tech hub which is home hundreds of people and companies including global software firm WANdisco and several start-ups.

They are in the Castlegate area which Sheffield City Council is pushing to be redeveloped.

Mr Omu is also converting the Old Town Hall on the other side of the road.

Next door to the Cannon apartments, the former Stantons Bakery and Cafe has been converted into 12 flats. A studio apartment is for sale for £132,000.

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