Future of historic Sheffield pub will be decided today

A long-running dispute about the future of a historic Sheffield pub looks set to end with the building’s destruction after council chiefs recommended a residential development for approval.
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Officers at Sheffield Council last week recommended for approval a planning application to demolish The Plough Inn on Sandygate Road to build eight four-bedroom townhouses in two four-storey blocks and associated parking for 18 vehicles.

The building has been the subject of a campaign to save it by a group of residents who say its value as a community asset should have been recognised by council planners.

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But others view the site - which has fallen into disrepair since the pub closed its doors five years ago - as an ‘eyesore’ which could and should be put to better use.

The Plough Inn, Crosspool, Sheffield. Picture: Chris Etchells The Plough Inn, Crosspool, Sheffield. Picture: Chris Etchells
The Plough Inn, Crosspool, Sheffield. Picture: Chris Etchells

Anne-Marie Appleton, from the Save the Plough Inn group who have been campaigning to stave off its demolition for five years, said that while they were ‘disappointed’ with the officers’ recommendation, they would not give up the fight to save it.

She said they had received a lot of support from the council in the past – particularly over the building’s asset of community value or ACV status – and were therefore ‘surprised’ when they recommended it be demolished.

She said: “The planning officer says that the fact there has been no interest over the past two years means it is not viable as a pub but as far as we are concerned it has not been kept in a fit state for anyone to look around.

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“It has been used as a storage facility and a dumping group. The developer says it has been subject to vandalism but it is his responsibility to prevent that.”

The Plough Inn, Crosspool, Sheffield. Picture: Chris EtchellsThe Plough Inn, Crosspool, Sheffield. Picture: Chris Etchells
The Plough Inn, Crosspool, Sheffield. Picture: Chris Etchells

The current vacant building was built in 1929 but there is evidence the pub existed in one form or another since the mid-1600s.

Later, in the 1800s, the pub is thought by some to have been where the original rules for Association Football were drawn up, although this is a claim that is disputed by Sheffield FC, the oldest football team in the world, who say the final rules were drawn up on East Bank Road in Abourthorne.

According to Anne-Marie, the pub was a thriving business when they moved in more than 30 years ago, but the rot set in when the building was sold by brewer Whitbread to Enterprise Inns.

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The pub finally closed its doors around five years ago and has since fallen into disrepair with the grounds being used by the developer for storage and the site attracting vandalism.

In the area on Monday, most people seemed sad but not surprised to hear the news the landmark could soon disappear.

One man described the building’s likely demolition as a ‘crime’ but admitted that without a rich benefactor who could help preserve the grand stone mansion, its loss was probably inevitable.

Former publican John Wooley from Lodge Moor said that while ‘spectacular’, the current economics of the pub trade made it almost impossible to maintain.

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“It is a beautiful old building and I would personally like to see it remain but over the years there has been tenant after tenant and they have never made it pay,” he said.

“Micropubs have become popular during the lockdown but most of the other pubs in this area are struggling.”

And lecturer Kathryn Reaney said that as well as the loss of the building to the community, she wasn’t sure that an already busy area could take yet more development.

She said: “When I first moved in it was really busy and we used to go a lot. It had a proper sense of community and it is a shame to see it like this.

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“But this road is really busy as it is with cyclists and people going to the Peak District and the schools are busting at the seams.

“And lockdown has shown us that loneliness is a problem for our ageing population in this area so it would be sad to lose the building for good.”

Others, however - including some residents who live in the new-build flats on St Francis Close opposite the now dilapidated building - said they welcomed the development as a positive move for the site after years of neglect.

One woman said she would be ‘only too happy’ to see it go while a man said that while the prospect of having a pub on his doorstep was an enticing one, the site was now so run down and neglected that it was probably now beyond repair.

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But Anne-Marie said that while some residents of St Francis Close could well be happy about the removal of what many now consider to be an eyesore, others were definitely not.

“Some of them will be looking at a brick wall,” she said.

“The development is not in keeping with the area and the density is actually outside the regulations but the officers let that condition go.”

A final decision on the application will be made by Sheffield Council planning committee on Tuesday, August 3.