Plans submitted for ‘pod’ hotel rooms in cells of Grade Two Town Hall building

Plans for Sheffield’s former Town Hall building to house 12 “pod” hotel rooms, an indoor market known as a “souk” and 12 serviced apartments have been submitted.

Aestrom OTH , the owner of the Grade Two listed building which was built in 1808, is looking to turn the rear cell block into 12 “pod” hotel rooms formed within the rear cell block.

The firm, which bought the now derelict premises earlier this year, has submitted a planning application to Sheffield City Council which also details plans to create 12 serviced apartments  within existing rooms and courts of the original Old Town Hall building and mid-20th century extension.

The indoor marketplace known as a “souk” would be created in 918 sq m of flexible commercial space at basement/lower ground floor levels.

The firm says the plans would secure the future of the building, which is based on Waingate in the Castelgate area of the city centre.

Cell

The planning application states: ” Physically, the Old Town Hall is in a degraded state having been out of use for over 20 years, with theft and vandalism having accelerated this degradation and contributed to a relatively significant internal damage.

“The oldest part of the building was constructed in the classical revival style in 1808, replacing Sheffield’s first Town Hall. It was then altered and expanded twice in the 1800s as well as in the mid-20th century.”

The owner said that the proposals would “make a significant contribution to the achievement of these sustainability aims, contributing to the growing revitalisation of the Castlegate area and the vitality of the City Centre more generally.”

They added: “The fundamental works underpinning the scheme will return the Old Town Hall to
its former glory and therefore both preserve and enhance its historic significance, that of nearby heritage assets and the characteristics of the surrounding built environment.

“The proposals will make a significant contribution to the emerging regeneration of the Castlegate area, and as a result to Sheffield City Centre as a whole. In its current state of relative dereliction, the value of the building has deteriorated and its future is at risk.

“Due to this, environmentally, economically and socially the application site contributes relatively little to its surroundings, and it is therefore further asserted that the implementation of the proposed scheme will result in extremely substantial public benefit and improved utilisation of the site.”

The Old Town Hall was built in 1808 to replace the first Town Hall in Sheffield which
had been deemed inadequate. The building was designed by Charles Watson and originally
occupied a smaller footprint of land than the current building on the site.

The Old Town Hall allowed for the Town Trustees to carry out their work and it also housed the
chief constable and other members of the police force. Twice in the 19th century the building was deemed inadequate for its function and therefore was altered and enlarged.

In the 1890s, plans for a new Town Hall saw the current Sheffield Town Hall constructed on a scale sufficient for its purpose. This resulted in the Old Town Hall being altered into the Court House and extended to the north to include a cell block.

The site has been vacant since 1996, when Sheffield Crown Court was built.

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