Is Castlegate’s heritage in danger?

Good afternoon readers — and welcome to our Monday briefing.

Today we take a look at Castlegate and why some campaigners are worried that the most historic part of Sheffield city centre is in danger of the wrong type of development. We also have all our usual reads and recommendations including a story about spooky paranormal activity at a Sheffield pub and a pedal-powered cinema’s visit to a city park.

Catch up and coming up

At the weekend we told the astonishing story of Kateryna and Mathew Fialko, two of the first Ukrainian refugees to have arrived in South Yorkshire. You can still read that piece here.

Last week we sent two newsletters out to our 616 paying members. The first was a beautiful piece Dani wrote after visiting a greyhound training kennels in Rotherham. And the second included a piece by me about whether metro mayors can bring Levelling Up to the North, as well as a write-up of a visit I made to 5tara, Sheffield’s newest Indian restaurant.

This week we’ll send out two more including a dive into the niche world of historic medieval battle, an interview with the Conservative candidate for South Yorkshire Mayor and a piece about The Felling, a major new documentary film about the Sheffield tree protests. To get both of those please consider subscribing. It costs £1.34 a week if you pay for the year.

This week’s weather

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say settled weather this week will mean the days all look largely similar. Here's the summary:

Weather 🌤️ All days will feature good spells of sunshine, often unbroken with only patchy cloud developing at times. Moderate UV levels (3).

Precipitation ❌ It looks dry throughout the week with high-pressure influencing.

Temperature 😎 Quite a diurnal range with chilly nights giving way to increasingly warm days. Overnight lows of 2-4°C with daytime highs 15-17°C.

Winds 🍃 Mainly light from an east to southeast direction, not impacting too much on the temperature.

Outlook: Looking ahead to the weekend, it looks mainly dry still with bright or sunny spells. Temperatures on the decline with low teens rather than high teens expected.

To see the full forecast and keep up to date with any changes to the outlook, follow Steel City Skies on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

The big story: Is Castlegate’s heritage in danger?

Top Line: Council leader Terry Fox has described Castlegate as a “hidden gem in the city centre with huge potential”. But some are worried that without better protection for Sheffield’s historic heart, plans to redevelop it could lead to more uncontrolled building in the area.

History: Castlegate is the area where Sheffield first began in the 12th century. It is named after the castle that once stood there, some remnants of which can still be seen at the former Castle Market site. Since the demolition of the market in 2015, the main site has lain empty.

City centre vision: The report of the recent consultation on the future of the city centre says several respondents called for a “greater focus on the historical significance of Castlegate”. Yet the city centre vision still says nothing about a conservation area that was proposed in 2018.

• This consultation was postponed two years ago at the last minute and without explanation on the orders of the executive member for city futures Councillor Mazher Iqbal — and remains in limbo.
• A number of heritage buildings are still at risk in the area including the Old Town Hall, the Old Stock Exchange, the former Coroner’s Court, the Market Tavern and several buildings on Haymarket.

Conservation areas: Since 1967, local authorities have had powers to designate “areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance”. There is a presumption against demolition in these conservation areas and they can also bring in funding through Historic England’s partnership schemes.

Robin Hughes from Hallamshire Historic Buildings told The Tribune that while the lack of a Conservation Area did not necessarily mean a development “free for all”, having one would provide a much higher level of protection. He told us: 

But CAs are about a lot more than simply preserving old stuff or doing what the law requires. When they cancelled the Castlegate conservation area consultation, the council said they were concerned that it might be a brake on development, but of course the opposite is the case — you just have to look at Kelham Island or the Cultural Industries Quarter to see that.

Economic benefits: There is evidence to show that conservation areas actually boost demand, so that rentals and property prices increase. The controls that allow them to develop the right way are very widely supported, especially by those who actually live in them. 

• It’s also been noted that the economic benefit drops for CAs at risk — it’s worth looking after conservation areas, because neglecting them is costly.
• Heritage is also a big attraction for businesses — they will choose to locate where it is looked after and seen as an asset, not where it could be degraded.

Beyond Castlegate: Heritage concerns have been raised about other parts of the city centre consultation, notably the potential demolition of the former John Lewis building on Barker’s Pool. Robin Hughes says spurious claims in the document about the removal of asbestos and the carbon benefits of planting 30 trees in the building’s place were “certainly misleading”.

Bottom line: As Terry Fox has said, Castlegate could be a source of pride of Sheffield. But one of the reasons for this is its heritage value, and a history that stretches back almost 1,000 years. A conservation area would help preserve this and, as Robin Hughes says, provide economic benefits — making the council’s slow progress on this front in four years all the more puzzling.

Home of the week

This stunning Chapeltown detached bungalow has four bedrooms, an open plan living room, dining area and kitchen and views over fields to the rear. It is on the market for £490,000.

Our favourite reads

1. Sheffield-based metalsmith and sculptor Francisca Onumah was featured on the front cover of the Yorkshire Post magazine on Saturday. Francisca works out of the Yorkshire Artspace and makes beautiful metal vessels, brooches and earrings. The article is subscription-only but there is also a nice free video on the page as well.
2. The BBC reports the frankly baffling news that eight giant African land snails have been found in a bush in Firth Park. The snails, which are normally found in tropical wetlands and forests in sub-Saharan Africa, can grow up to 30cm in length and sometimes live for 10 years. RSPCA inspector Ben Cottle-Shaw said: "It was quite an unusual find.”
3. An interesting report by David Walsh in The Star about plans to build 900 new homes on a 22-acre brownfield site in between Woodburn Road and the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal in Attercliffe. Local MP Clive Betts says the development, which would be called Attercliffe Waterside, could turn the run-down area into a “new Ecclesall Road”.
4. Well done to Sheffield journalism student Louise Armstrong who got herself a national byline with this tale of spooky goings-on at a city bar. Ghost hunters were responding to reports of a haunting at Meltdown on Snig Hill (formerly the Black Swan) when they recorded a voice saying "oh wow" and "I'm sorry I let you down".
5. The family of bare-knuckle boxer and self-styled “King of Sheffield” Willy Collins, who died at the age of just 49 in July 2020, have created a permanent memorial to him at Shiregreen cemetery. As this gallery shows, the 37-tonne headstone (which also features a solar-powered jukebox playing Willy’s favorite songs) is a sight to behold.

Spring is coming

Duffdroid on Instagram is one of the best amateur photographers in Sheffield. Based in Kelham Island, he only uses a Samsung S20 smartphone but gets amazing results that look like they are taken with a professional stills camera. This wonderful shot from last Monday of the Ball Street Bridge weir near Kelham Island is contrasted on his page with a much more wintry picture from just a few weeks beforehand.

Things to do

Outdoors: With good weather forecast for this week, it's the perfect time to get out and enjoy everything the Outdoor City has to offer. Just in time, the good people at Now Then have put together this brilliant top five Sheffield park walks where you can also get great coffee. The list even includes one coffee shop’s Sheffield-themed Spotify playlist for you to enjoy.

Art: Starting on Wednesday, March 23, Here/There is an exhibition of new sculpture by Sheffield-based artist Charlotte Dawson at Bloc Projects art gallery on Eyre Lane. Dawson’s work focuses on objects with this show reflecting on the form of dining plates and the range of disparate connections we associated with them. The exhibition runs until Saturday, April 2.

Music: The lead singer of cult Manchester band I am Kloot John Bramwell (formerly Johnny Dangerously) is coming to Sheffield to play a solo set at the Greystones pub on Wednesday evening (March 23). As well as playing new material and favorites from his back catalogue, he will also be entertaining people with tales from his time as a musician. Tickets are £22.

Film: Heeley will play host to a unique event on Saturday (March 26) when a pedal-powered cinema arrives at the area’s People’s Park. As well as showing a series of short films which shine a light on neighbourhood life, there will also be a screening of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet. The event, which runs from 6pm to 9pm, is free but please book a place here.

A City in Time: Photographs by Tim Cooper

For his recent book The Story of Sheffield, Dr Tim Cooper took photographs on the first days the city was unlocked in the summer of 2020 and spring 2021. Carefully selected to illustrate aspects of Sheffield's history, and displayed alongside explanatory text, Tim says the 30 photos provide a lens through which to view the city’s past. “The fact that the pictures were taken in the space of just a few days means they provide a snapshot of Sheffield at a fixed point in its story,” he told Sheffield Libraries. The free exhibition can be found at Sheffield Central Library foyer throughout March and April.