Plans unveiled to bring back historic 155-year-old Victorian Sheffield landmark - a decade since it closed
Pictures show how 155 year old venue would be transformed under new plans
It was a Victorian landmark that was once a centrepiece of the city.
And now, almost a decade since it was last in use, the former Yorkshire Bank Building, stock exchange and Sheffield Central Post Office looks set to be brought back into use.
An arts group has now submitted its planning application for the building on Haymarket, which dates back to the 1870s. It is one of three buildings on Haymarket that would be involved in the project, with alterations made to adopt them into art galleries and studios
It would seen the building converted into an arts space and art gallery run by the organisation S1 Artspace, which would include a bar in the basement cafe. The building has not been used since 2017.
A detailed document accompanying the application, from consultants Carmody Groarke describes the building, completed in 1871, as a characteristic example of 19th-century civic architecture.
They said: “Originally built as Sheffield's Head General Post Office, the building served the city for nearly four decades during a period of rapid industrial and urban growth.
“In 1911, following the Post Office's relocation to larger premises on Fitzalan Square, the building reopened as the Sheffield Stock Exchange, a trading hub for shares in the city's expanding steel and colliery industries. Fifty years later, it was converted into a branch of the Yorkshire Bank, which remained in use until 2014.”
It has been a Grade II listed building since 1973.
The gallery would also include the buildings at 5 and 7 Commercial Street, and the consultants say it would retain and repair its historic fabric wherever possible while introducing the ‘new interventions’ necessary to support a public gallery, artists' studios, and independent bar.
Things line the former banking hall and the former exchange hall would be converted into galleries. There would also be a morern, rooftop extension.
The proposals include a new-build extension across half the building, providing purpose-built workspaces designed to support creative production, artist studios and office space on the second floor of the existing building and the first floor extension on Commercial Street, where ‘generous ceiling heights and large windows’ offer good conditions for natural light and spacious working.
The report added: “Central to the proposal is the creation of a new lift core providing step-free access across all floors, and a reinstated central public circulation stair to improve connectivity and visitor flow. These interventions ensure fully accessible circulation throughout the building and introduce new fire separation and egress routes, supporting inclusive operation and safeguarding the long-term viability of S1 Artspace.
“The existing buildings facade will be retained, strengthened, carefully cleaned and repaired. The materiality of the proposed extension and shopfront will be distinct from the existing building to maintain the legibility of the revitalised historic façades.”
“The scheme will deliver a new, permanent home for S1 Artspace, providing c.1,450 square metres of galleries, artists' studios, and community and creative workspace, together with an independent bar, at the heart of Sheffield's emerging Castlegate Quarter.”
A heritage statement by by Donald Insall Associates says the building has suffered from water getting inside, as well as dry rot and fabric decay, adding the building is at risk without intervention.
The project is being funded by organisations including the Government, the Mayor’s office, Sheffield Council and The Architectural Heritage Fund.
S1 Artspace has owned the building since 2024, and was given a £1m grant by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority last year.
A public consultation on the plans was carried out last year, which found most people who responded supportive of the project, according to the planning application.