Discussions starting on future of Sheffield Central Library and Graves Gallery

The grade II-listed art deco Graves Building on Surrey Street in the city centre, which dates back to 1934, houses the Central Library, plus the top-floor Graves Art Gallery run by Sheffield Museums Trust, and the basement Library Theatre.

A three-metre scaffolding ‘exclusion zone’ was erected around the building in January as a safety measure following a survey. It showed that the internal steel framework had suffered damage and expanded, causing cracks to the surrounding stonework and masonry.

A report coming before the council’s communities, parks and leisure policy committee next Tuesday (December 12) talks about a timeline for discussing the future of all the services inside the building, including part of Sheffield Archive.

Final decisions will go to the strategy and resources policy committee.

The report spells nothing out but there has been speculation before that a new central library could be built elsewhere in the city centre, leaving the Graves Building open to other uses, most likely by the city’s culture sector. If the Graves gallery stays in the building, it is feasible that might be in a different, possibly expanded, form.

The report notes: “Past discussions on the use of the Central Library/Graves building have demonstrated that many in the city feel very strongly that the building should be central to the city’s civic life and it is hoped that theproposal to strategy and resources will be approved and a vision for the building can be taken forward.”

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A failed attempt to sell off the building to a Chinese consortium in 2016 to become a five-star hotel was opposed by more than 9,000 Sheffielders, including city-born Monty Python star Michael Palin. At that time the cost of repairs was said to be £30m.

The report says that the council is proposing to submit a bid for feasibility funding to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. That will enable the council to use an outside organisation to look at the future of the library and archive, “including public engagement, outline costs, future revenue streams and an outline funding strategy”.

A parallel bid will be submitted by the museums trust, supported by the council, to develop the vision for the gallery.

The timeline shows consultation work running from January to September, with decisions starting to take place in February 2025.