The man hoping to transform a Sheffield suburb – starting by tearing down derelict building

David Slater managing director of Attercliffe-based property firm Spaces Sheffield said the Attercliffe streets have been overlooked despite multi-million pound investment in the area.

Stressing that the suburb is "on the brink of something special" as it houses iconic Sheffield Legacy Park and the recently-announced Attercliffe Waterside project, now is the perfect time to regenerate the area.

And the demolition of the derelict Pierrepoint building would be a fantastic place to start in a bid to bring the suburb back to its former glory, he said.

"It's been on the landscape for many years and unfortunately as you drive past, it's one of those buildings that you look at and shake your head and you wonder why it's such a mess," he said.

He said the Pierrepoint building, which was once a grocery store decades ago, poses dangers to the public as it risks asbestos exposure.

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"The building would be a good place to start - we will be ringing the building control because there's asbestos in that building right next to the street.

"If you get a bad wind and some asbestos comes loose it is dangerous to the people," he said.

Mr Slater said the demolition of the old building could be turned into a walkway through the ancient Chapel of Ease that connects to the now demolished Christ Church behind it.

"It is just an idea to make it nicer, simpler and more attractive so Attercliffe can become a more desirable place on the back of the hundreds of millions of development all around it."

He also found it strange with the fact Sheffield City Council has pumped million of pounds worth of development in the ‘Gray to Green’ project in the city, yet the streets of Attercliffe "are still full of rubbish.

"The cleanliness of the streets of Attercliffe is ignored and that's frustrating,” he said.

He said the suburb, which is home to Sheffield's engineering past, has become an area full of illegal backstreet garages that need to get rid of.

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A scrapyard in Attercliffe, is also responsible for the dirty streets, he added.

"The lorries from the scrapyard don't put nets on their wagons and the waste is all over the street.

"So it's important for Attercliffe which has got the Olympic Legacy Park and hundreds of millions of pounds of investment and it's important that everybody else raises their game too.

"The Olympic Legacy Park cannot afford to be an oasis in a desert of dirt," he said.

Mr Slater, said he and his group, the Attercliffe Business Connection, will be encouraging the demolition of the Pierrepoint building as a start.

"This is my part of my aspiration and not a personal thing. This is more about getting Attercliffe back to where it belongs and I’m just a small part of that,” he said when asked if this was part of his effort

to increase the values of property in the area.

"My buildings are absolutely fantastic, we clean the streets, the windows and this is entirely different part of Attercliffe.

"I just don’t understand the mentality of people who don’t look after the building and their surroundings.”

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In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.