Cole Brothers Sheffield: Eerie video inside former John Lewis department store reveals empty shelves, static escalators and scrawled messages from staff on the walls

In the footage, Councillor Mazher Iqbal gives a walk-through tour of the huge empty building explaining what the store meant to the people of the city – and also highlighting how there is a ’great opportunity to put something amazing on this site’.

The video reveals empty shelves, remnants of show kitchens in the home wares department, the former food court and static escalators while church bells from outside echo through the empty site.

Coun Iqbal also stops at a wall scrawled with messages from former members of staff in which he points out some of the ‘emotional and heart-warming stories’ of people highlighting how long they had worked there.

Both John Lewis, and it’s predecessor Cole Brothers, had a presence in the city for several decades but the doors were closed for the last time in August 2021 at a cost of 299 jobs.

The council is now considering three broad options for the future of the site.

Is the John Lewis site listed?

These are to retain and reuse the existing building, demolish the building and create a large public space, or demolish the building and create a public space with a smaller building.

Meanwhile, a global sports brand wants to open ‘Sheffield Rules’, a football-based cultural and wellbeing centre in the former Barker’s Pool store - or in a new building on the site.

The site was this week granted Grade-II listed status, which should protect it from demolition.