Hope historical football pub in Sheffield could become visitor centre

Last week The Plough Inn, on Sandygate Road, escaped demolition after Sheffield Council's planning and highways committee narrowly voted in favour of rejecting plans to knock it down and turn it into eight new four-bedroom houses with a car park.

The current vacant building, which sits opposite Hallam FC – home to the oldest football ground in the world – was built in 1929 but there is evidence the pub existed in one form or another since the mid 1600s. It closed in 2015, however.

Peter Duff, chairman of The Plough Community Campaign, said he was “very pleased”, if somewhat “surprised” with the decision after council officers recommended approval.

He told The Star: "We have been campaigning for four or five years and it’s really hard to maintain public interest, but we have done really well.”

The council received 205 objections to the plans, with just seven submissions in support. The Plough Community Campaign also fought to save the pub in 2017 when Sainsbury’s applied to build a supermarket on the site. They have since made it an asset of community value – meaning it cannot be developed without approval from planning officers.

Peter said: “In an ideal world we would want it restored as a pub and for that to be at the heart of any development.

"It’s a really beautiful landmark building. At it’s best it’s a really, really busy local pub.”

In 2015 The Plough Community Campaign bid £435,000 to buy the pub after raising around £235,000 in community shares to buy it. The rest of the money required was put up by a charitable trust, Peter said. However, the group lost out to Spacepad Construction, who still own the site.

"They have refused to enter into any dialogue with us at all,” said Peter.

The group would need to raise the money again if they were to take over the pub, Peter said, but he admitted the biggest issue facing them is reaching an agreement with the current owners.

He added: "I do think they are going to be a big obstacle moving forward.

“There’s a lot of ideas coming in at the moment, we want the pub to be at the heart of the development but it may be possible to include other things on site as well with a community focus."

Among the ideas being considered is a visitor centre for sports fans, given the venue’s history. The original rules of football were drafted and developed at The Plough and Hallam FC – the world’s second oldest football club – were founded there. Former landlord Thomas Armitage is also the only cricketer to play a first-class match for both England and the USA.

Other ideas put forward include pop-up street food markets and flexible working space.

The Plough Community Campaign is planning to formally team up with the Sheffield Home of Football campaign (SHOF) to further the aims of both groups. Councillor Anne Murphy, who is part of the SHOF campaign, lives local to The Plough and represents the Crosspool ward. She spoke in favour of rejecting the plans last week.

Peter said: “You could make a really nice visitor centre attached to the pub or in the pub for a good all-round experience.

"If we get beyond the planning dispute then we could have a much more constructive dialogue with the club [Hallam FC].”

The club has so far remained neutral throughout the dispute, Peter said. The Star has approached Hallam FC for comment.

Not everyone is in favour of trying to save the site, however.

One person wrote on social media: “Yet more delay before it finally gets knocked down and replaced with something useful. Time is up - please move on. Even if this place could reopen it would just take trade away from the other pubs nearby and make the situation worse.”

Another person said: “The best solution for what has become a dreadful eyesore in this area is for it to be demolished and replaced by top-end housing. Any funds raised would be better spent creating a community environment across the road at Hallam football and cricket club”.

Mark Platts, director of Spacepad Construction, declined to comment when approached by The Star.