Sheffield restoration plans for listed building Meersbrook Hall boosted by £20,000 council grant
Funding supports group’s plans to open up building to local community
Campaigners to restore a listed building in a Sheffield park are celebrating a £20,000 city council grant to help their work.
Sheffield City Council is giving the Friends of Meersbrook Hall £20,000 to contribute to finding investment to restore the 18th-century listed building in Meersbrook Park.
Volunteers took part at the weekend in a big clean-up in time for public tours as part of Heritage Open Days on Friday, September 11 and 18.
The Friends are also organising a community picnic outside the hall on Sunday from noon to 4pm. Supporters will link hands around the house at 2.30pm.
The council said the funding will support the first year of operation and feasibility work for Meersbrook Hall, which has been closed for more than three years.
The Friends have also secured a short-term licence for the building. They want to reopen it soon as a community hub.
The £20,000 grant comes from the Gleadless Valley ward allocation of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). CIL is collected from developers and reinvested into communities.
That will help cover the hall’s running costs during its first year of operation while the group develops a long-term business plan for the building.
The grounds of the Georgian mansion are now Meersbrook Park. It was most recently used by Heeley Trust but had been council parks department offices.
Victorian philanthropist John Ruskin used the hall as his Ruskin Gallery museum from 1890 to 1953. The collection of art and natural treasures is now in the city centre Millennium Galleries.
Councillor Brian Holmshaw, chair of the council communities, parks and leisure policy committee, said: “The group has worked incredibly hard to develop exciting plans for the building and has already shown the strength of local support behind the project.
“This investment will help bring an important heritage asset back into use, creating opportunities for residents to come together, access services, learn new skills and take part in community activities.”
Amanda Hill, joint secretary of the Friends of Meersbrook Hall, said: “We’ve got some serious plans for the building and our mission is to create a thriving community hub while sensitively repairing and restoring it over the long term.
“This grant gives us a tremendous boost towards achieving that ambition.”