Salvation Army Citadel: Building owner in court showdown with Sheffield City Council over repairs

Sheffield City Council has hit Robert Hill with a repair notice over the dilapidated Salvation Army Citadel, which is sprouting bushes and has a hole in the roof.

But he is refusing to do any work - including repairing glass and repointing -  that might be part of a hoped-for deal with a developer for an eight-storey office behind a retained facade.

The landmark listed building on Cross Burgess Street has been empty for 26 years. Mr Hill, who has owned it for 17, said the court hearing today (Friday, July 12) would allow him to “explain himself”.

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He added: “I appreciate it looks like a dog’s dinner but every year I have the bushes chopped back and the graffiti removed. Normally I get a phone call from the council, this time they have issued a repair notice. It feels like harassment.

“I just want to tidy it up but don’t want to commission work that’s going to get done as part of a much bigger picture for the renovation of the building. It’s not the principle, it’s the timing.”

Mr Hill said he suspected the new hard line from the council was because it was the last dilapidated building in the authority’s £470m Heart of the City development area and the upmarket Radisson Blu hotel had just opened nearby.

The Citadel opened in 1894 and was in use by the Salvation Army for more than a century. But it has been empty since 1999. 

Mr Hill previously said he spent £2m on 12 proposals for bars, shops - including an Apple shop - restaurants and a spa.

A Sheffield City Council spokesperson said the Building Control and Planning Service had issued the owner of the building with notices to ensure it was not causing public safety issues, and to improve the external appearance of “this important listed heritage asset.”

They added: “The council has been in ongoing discussions with the owner of the Citadel for a number of years regarding the building, its maintenance and its ownership.”

It is understood the authority made Mr Hill an offer for the building but he rejected it as too low.