Lost Devonshire Street shop Rare & Racy set to be replaced with modern offices

Georgian buildings on Devonshire Street used to be home to a terrace of independent shops including Rare & Racy, which opened in 1969 and sold second-hand books, music and art for almost 50 years.

Planning permission was granted in 2015 to demolish the shops and replace them with a three-storey building with ground floor offices and apartments above.

The plans were opposed by 20,000 people and there were demonstrations outside the Town Hall. Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker said Rare & Racy was a ‘global treasure’, likening its loss to ravens leaving the Tower of London.

The decision went to a judicial review on the grounds that the council failed to consult English Heritage and failed to determine whether it would have a harmful impact on two nearby listed buildings. The judicial review was dismissed.

The bookshop shut for good in 2017 when its lease expired, the shops either side moved elsewhere and the row has remained empty since.

Now developers say they want to build offices there instead as construction costs are prohibitive.

They say the previous scheme was marketed softly by several letting agents and while two retail/food and drink operators showed interest, they didn’t proceed.

In a report, planning officers say: “They have stated that, even pre-Covid, the viability of the retail/leisure and food and drink sector had begun to change due to saturation of convenience goods operators and the number of units available and that the pandemic will exacerbate this significantly.

“The applicant’s view is that offices will still be required and the scheme will suit flexible and cost sensitive operators.

“Retail and food and drink would be their first choice, but they consider that the deals are not there to be done in Sheffield city centre at the present time.

“They also suggest that some of the existing shops on Devonshire Street opened for reduced hours even before the pandemic and this is indicative of the low viability of this location.”

There’s been 64 objections, including from Hallamshire Historic Buildings, and criticism that the scheme is “poor, unimaginative, bulky, insensitive, an eyesore, dominating and adds to the blandness of the city centre”.

Campaigners say the buildings should be restored and are ideally suited to small independent businesses. These are important heritage assets which are vitally important to the character of the Devonshire Quarter.

They are of historical interest as they are some of the oldest commercial and domestic buildings in the city centre and are identified as an important early group of buildings.

Planners are advising councillors approve the scheme at a meeting next week.

They say: “The proposal will regenerate the site and improve its appearance. The loss of the buildings, which are undesignated heritage assets, will have a minor harmful impact and the new building is a high-quality design.”