Review of the Year 2017: November - Angry traders hit out at city centre scaffolding and the end of an era for The Star

Proposals had already been submitted to Sheffield Council to convert the building into 283 studio apartments, spread across five floors and more than 100,000 sq ft. Johnston Press, which publishes The Star and Sheffield Telegraph, sold the York Street property for £3.6 million.

Star editor Nancy Fielder said: “It will be quite a moment when we leave here for the final time; you can only imagine the challenges of packing up a newspaper’s history into boxes ready for the removal team.

“And our present site being turned into apartments will be just the latest transformation as the heart of our city seeks to redefine and improve itself. It will certainly be the start of a new era for our team; an exciting chapter in the history of newspapers in Sheffield.”

Also this month, angry business owners in Sheffield hit out at the council, claiming they had been hit by a slump in trade due to eyesore scaffolding in Fargate, Chapel Walk and High Street, covering the centre in unsightly metal bars, rather than festive cheer, in the Christmas run-up.

Business owners claimed the work was putting off shoppers, causing them to do their Christmas shopping elsewhere.

Sue Berridge, of Cards for Good Causes, said: “We raise thousands of pounds each year, but at the moment we won’t be able to reach that target. I just think people can’t find us.”

And an ambitious plan to build a stadium on the site where world football began, at Olive Grove, moved closer this month, after 2022 World Cups hosts Qatar pledged their support.