Final curtain to fall on Sheffield's famous Full Monty Club as theatre professionals fail to save it

Theatre professionals have lost a last-ditch attempt to save Sheffield's famous Full Monty club but have urged communities to carry on fighting to save the city's pubs and clubs.
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Shiregreen Working Men’s Club is almost 100 years old and played a starring role in the famous 1997 film.

It has been derelict since 2018 and developer Eyre Investments wants to demolish it and build on the land.

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In February, the club had a stay of execution when Sheffield Council officers refused an application to bulldoze it, but Coun Peter Price warned there were no long term grounds for refusal and the community needed to rally around to save it.

Full Monty club)Full Monty club)
Full Monty club)

After hearing this, and on the back of a petition with 1,500 signatures, a group of producers, theatre-makers, designers, writers and production managers took action.

They included producer and theatre-maker Linda Bloomfield, director Malaika Cunningham, designer Bethany Wells, production manager Tom Robbins, producers James Ashfield and Sarah Sharp, theatre director Ali Pidsley, director and writer Ruby Clarke, director and producer Sam Dunstan and theatre-maker Joe Boylan.

Linda said: “We came together to propose an alternative future for the building, which would mean keeping its legacy as an iconic pub and club, but also utilising the facilities to serve the community once more, with a programme of events and social activities.

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"Inspired by theatre company Slung Low's work at the Holback in Leeds, the oldest working man's club in Britain, the people of Shiregreen deserve a similar community-centred social enterprise on their doorstep."

The group were fundraising to buy the site, but the developer objected to their bid to have the building declared an Asset of Community Value.

The council will make a decision on this in the next fortnight, but Linda says they are not hopeful of a good outcome.

She also says coronavirus and lockdown severely hampered the campaign.

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She said: “We have been communicating only via Whatsapp and Zoom with frantic phone calls, hurried emails and hundreds of unpaid hours between us.

"Unfortunately, the demolition proposal was accepted - the council was as supportive as it could be, but as the building is not listed, there are only limited reasons for it to be refused. Despite our work, the go-ahead was given to clear the site.

"We were given only two weeks to collect more evidence for the Asset of Community Value and with the pandemic still affecting our ability to gather together in person, fighting this further is simply not possible for us to do alone.

"Many of the people in the community that we are working alongside, who might be able to help us gather some of this evidence, do not have email or access to the internet - we have been relaying information over the phone.

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"Some are older, at risk, or shielding. It is a nigh-on impossible task in the current situation.

"On top of this, most of our group are freelancers, and the theatre industry is on fire. Our jobs and livelihoods are at risk. Many of us do not have the security of furlough and are not eligible for grants. It makes it difficult to put as much energy into this now as we could at the start of the fight."

The group is urging communities to carry on fighting to save the city's pub heritage though.

She said: “Even though we may be too late to save this building, this is not the first working mens club to be sold, closed or demolished in Sheffield in recent years and it won’t be the last.

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"Shiregreen alone has already lost many local establishments: the Wincobank, the Roman Ridge, the Horseshoe, and the Sicey to name just a few.

"There is speculation from some sources that one developer alone has bought up five working men’s clubs in the city. There are very few pubs or social establishments left, especially not those with community use in mind.

"If groups no longer have anywhere to meet, they will either cease meeting or look elsewhere, depriving a community of important social assets which are vital for cohesion and wellbeing of residents. This will only get worse post-Covid-19.

"We are calling on the council, residents and the wider Sheffield community to come together in objecting to these closures, more often, more loudly, and in bigger numbers. To stand up and say no, not this time.

"This needs urgent attention.

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“Of course, affordable and social housing is much-needed and vital too, but there are no guarantees the accommodation built on these sites will be either of those things.

"There is a world in which it is possible to build more houses without erasing our brilliant, vibrant city’s heritage.

"We didn't want to let this demolition slip through the cracks due to distractions caused by coronavirus. It did, and there’s not much else we can do about that now.

"But please, if you are able to fight for your local next time this comes up, which it will, we urge you to."

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The club played host to the famous final scene of The Full Monty, where the men bared all in front of a packed crowd.

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