Wiley & Co: Scaffolding goes up to remove 'dangerous' historic Sheffield city centre facade
Scaffolding has gone up to “remove and preserve” a historic but “dangerous” facade in Sheffield city centre.
The frontage of the former Wiley & Co building, in Haymarket, has long stood out in the street for its Tudor-inspired black and white wood.
As a facade, there hasn’t been a building behind it for decades. But now the facade too is set to disappear.
Sheffield City Council claims an assessment has show the frontage is in “immediate danger of collapsing and posing a real risk to the public.”
The local authority also claims it invited the site’s owner to make the structure safe, but that it “has failed to act, as such the Council now needs to step in to ensure public safety.”
Scaffolding was erected last week and work is now underway to dismantle the black and white structure while “preserving as much of it as possible.”
Councillor Ben Miskell, chair of the council’s Regeneration Committee, said: “As the city council, our number one priority is always the safety of the people of Sheffield, with the façade being in such a dangerous state and at risk of collapsing into Haymarket, we have attempted to work with the building’s owner to make the structure safe. However, that hasn’t been possible, and we have been left with no option but to act.
“Throughout the process, we have been keeping representatives of the heritage organisations informed and we are very much aware of the importance of the façade and have kept this in mind every step of the way. Rather than just remove the structure, we are putting a plan in place to safely remove the façade while at the same time preserving as much of it as possible should the building’s owner wish to reinstate it at a later date, which we hope will be the case.”
It comes after Sheffield City Council was criticised by heritage groups over the demolition of the Market Tavern pub on Exchange Street, less than 50 metres from the Wiley & Co facade.
The council claimed the Tavern had to be demolished because a turret had toppled down while contractors were on site, making it unsafe.
However, video evidence was published by Now Then magazine proving the turret was still in place after demolition work had started.
An executive summary of an independent investigation later concluded the Tavern was demolished over misinformation brought out by “fundamental communication breakdowns.”