Cole Brothers Sheffield: Why Historic England listed John Lewis’ Barker's Pool building and what it means

It was confirmed today that the landmark on Barker’s Pool, previously Cole Brothers, had been handed the status, which means it is legally protected from being demolished, extended or significantly altered without special permission from the local planning authority.

The decision to list the building has been criticised on social media with one person stating on Twitter: “This makes it harder to make major changes, reducing its attractiveness to new tenants and thus ensuring the city centre remains in terminal decline.”

But explaining the decision, a Historic England spokesperson said in a statement this morning: “Historic England was asked to assess the former Cole Brothers’ (John Lewis) department store for Listing. After careful consideration, our recommendation to The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) was that it should be listed at Grade II.

“It is a rare example of a post-war department store - designed by a leading mid-C20 firm of architects - with clean, crisp Modernist lines and a sophisticated layout for shoppers. It stood out from the crowd and contributed to the city of Sheffield’s vision for a vibrant new environment for its residents. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport agreed with our advice and has today granted the former Cole Brothers’ (John Lewis) Department Store listed status.”

What does Grade 2 listed mean for a building?

Historic England says listing marks and celebrates a building's special architectural and historic interest, and also brings it under the consideration of the planning system, so it can be protected for future generations.

The older a building is, and the fewer the surviving examples of its kind, the more likely it is to be listed.

It states he general principles are that all buildings built before 1700 which survive in anything like their original condition are likely to be listed, as are most buildings built between 1700 and 1850. Particularly careful selection is required for buildings from the period after 1945. Buildings less than 30 years old are not normally considered to be of special architectural or historic interest because they have yet to stand the test of time.

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The organisation adds: “Listing is not a preservation order, preventing change. It does not freeze a building in time, it simply means that listed building consent must be applied for in order to make any changes to that building which might affect its special interest.”

“Listed buildings can be altered, extended and sometimes even demolished within government planning guidance. The local authority uses listed building consent to make decisions that balance the site's historic significance against other issues, such as its function, condition or viability.”

How many listed buildings are there in Sheffield?

Sheffield has just under 1,200 listed buildings of special architectural or historic interest.

Sheffield Council says: “Listing a building means that any changes to a building are controlled by the Planning Service, meaning that a reasoned and controlled approach is taken to protecting it for future generations.”