‘Courageous’ former Sheffield Council leader dies after battle with long illness

Labour councillor Mike Bower was the leader of Sheffield City Council from 1992 until 1998 and died on Wednesday after a long illness.

He moved to Sheffield to work as an industrial reporter for the Sheffield Star in the 1960s and a was an active trade unionist – becoming Northern Organiser for the National Union of Journalists and campaigning to establish an improved wage structure for working journalists.

He joined Sheffield City Council in the late 1970s and became chairman of its education committee.

In 1992 he became council leader and appointed Bob Kerslake, now Lord Kerslake, as the chief executive.

Mr Kerslake has acknowledged Mike as the driving force behind the ‘Heart of the City’ project, bringing together the Winter Gardens, Millennium Gallery and Peace Gardens and says that without his determination it would not have come to fruition.

One of Mr Bower’s landmark achievements was the restoration of Aizlewood’s Mill, on Nursery Street, as a centre for co-operatives and small business, attracting millions of pounds of European grants to complete the work.

He was also involved in the inception of Supertram in Sheffield.

Mr Bower was married to his wife, Frances Homewood, and had two daughters, Rachael and Sarah, from a previous marriage.

Ms Homewood said: “His courage and humour were remarkable to the very end and whilst he was never arrogant about his achievements, his political vision has left a great legacy for the City of Sheffield.

Paying tribute to him, a statement on the Aizlewood’s Mill website reads: “In September 2017, our board room was renamed the Mike Bower board room to honour Mike’s vision for the development and future use of Aizlewood’s Mill.“In the early 1980s, Aizlewood’s Mill was a derelict, rat infested eyesore with the threat of demolition looming over it. Mike saw the potential of this historic building and formulated the plan of converting it into offices for the benefit of co-operatively owned organisations as well as saving an important part of Sheffield’s Heritage for future generations.

“It was not an easy job. Mike was chairman of education for Sheffield City Council at the time, later to become leader, and juggling the demands of these positions alongside trying to persuade others understand his passion for this project was particularly difficult.

“On top of the problems of purchasing the building, there were huge obstacles to overcome before funding could be secured.

“Aizlewood’s Mill needed to be formally recognised for its historical importance before any funding bids would be accepted so Listed Building status needed to be applied for and achieved. Even then, it’s hard to generate the support required to renovate a building that needed more money to renovate than its estimated worth.

“Looking at Aizlewood’s Mill today and remembering that demolition was a real possibility back in the 1980s we honour Mike for his determination and tenacity in bringing this landmark building back to life.

“Mike always worked hard to bring to fruition his ideas for long term stability for Sheffield, often without the support of the council at the time.

“The ‘Heart of the City’ project was one of Mike’s projects, bringing together the Winter Gardens, Millennium Gallery and Peace Gardens. He was also involved in the inception of Supertram which was generally disliked at the time but has stood the test of time and Sheffielders find themselves bemoaning delays to its expansion to Rotherham and beyond.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor