What Sheffield's John Lewis could have been as building awaits redevelopment
“Flatten it and turn Barker’s Pool into an artisan market each weekend, food one week, vintage the next, crafts the week after”
THE MOVE
Unlike customers, plans for John Lewis have never been in short supply.
Back in 2001 it was central to a plan for a £600m Sevenstone retail quarter with the retailer in an anchor store on what is now Pounds Park on Wellington Street.
Plans were submitted in 2005 but by 2009 it was on hold due to the recession. Three years later John Lewis announced it was not moving and a year later the city council and developer Hammerson officially parted ways.
THE REVAMP
In the 2010s John Lewis was still a key part of the city centre and Sheffield City Council was doing everything it could to keep the company happy.
In 2020 it signed a 20-year contract and paid a £3.4 million taxpayer-funded subsidy to buy out John Lewis’s lease and pay for building modifications to convince the retailer to stay.
One year later it shut with the loss of 299 jobs.
SOCIAL HOUSING
After John Lewis closed, the ideas came flooding in.
Tom Hunt - a name you might recognise - was deputy director of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Sheffield when he suggested it should not be demolished because ‘the greenest building is the one that already exists’.
He proposed social housing, rooftop gardens, an arts and concert venue and a new home for the Graves Gallery.
At the time he said: “So, some ideas...The ground floor spaces facing Barker’s Pool could be opened up for cafes and restaurants with large outdoor seating space in front. Barker’s Pool could become an even better, busier public square.”
Mr Hunt went on to become leader of Sheffield City Council.
CELEBRITY IDEA
Famous Sheffield artist Pete McKee wanted to see the John Lewis building flattened after it closed.
In 2021, he said it was a chance for Sheffield to be ‘ahead of the game’.
The Sheffield artist told his 65,000 Twitter followers: “Flatten it and turn Barker’s Pool into an artisan market each weekend, food one week, vintage the next, crafts the week after etc.”
He added: “We now have an opportunity in Sheffield to be a head of the game. Move forward.”
FOOTBALL RULES
In November 2021 a global sports brand put forward £100m plans for a ‘home of football’ in the John Lewis building – including pitches on the roof.
The household name wanted to create ‘Sheffield Rules,’ with a museum celebrating the city’s role in the origins of the game, have-a-go football experiences with celebrities, community pitches on the roof and bars and restaurants on the ground floor opening on to Barker’s Pool.
The building would be revamped with ‘football architecture’ including a central column to represent a halfway line and a tunnel leading to the roof.
The proposal could also see the John Lewis car park replaced by a residential tower.
The tempting offer wowed Sheffield for a while but concrete plans never materialised, nor did the identity of the household name who corresponded with the press through local contacts, who themselves remained anonymous.
TODAY
In 2023, and by this time known by its old name of Cole Brothers, the city council sold it to developer Urban Splash on a 250-year lease.
The firm said it would re-establish the building as a place to meet, eat and shop, with the ground floor filled with retail, food and drink and upper floors turned into offices. Much of it would reopen for the public, it said.