A planning application to start the restoration of the Grade II-listed Leah’s Yard has been submitted, with the long-term vision for the building to play a key role in a new cultural district in Sheffield city centre.
Leah’s Yard, which sits on Cambridge Street within the Council’s £470 million Heart of the City II development scheme, houses a collection of small, former industrial workshops. Although plans are still in the early stages, the council and its strategic development partner, Queensberry, is hoping to maintain the site’s unique Sheffield character and provide new ‘maker’ space for the city’s current and next creative generations.
Leah’s Yard in the 1950s
The project team will be inviting bids toward the end of March this year from interested organisations who may wish to occupy and manage the spaces. In the meantime, permission is being sought to undertake the fundamental construction works to make the building structurally sound and to bring it back into a usable condition.
Councillor Mazher Iqbal, Cabinet Member for Business and Investment at Sheffield city council, said: “We are attempting to retain attractive heritage across the Heart of the City II site, whilst ensuring we create exciting new spaces that are beneficial and sustainable to the local economy.
“With some of the most interesting architecture in the city centre, this city block was always going to be one of the most challenging and rewarding blocks in the masterplan. Bringing Leah’s Yard back to its former glory is something high on our list of priorities. We believe the new plans for the building will help give a cultural heart and social anchor to the scheme. Today’s application for Listed Building Consent on Leah’s Yard is the first step in realising its true potential.”
Sheffield city council has also been working closely with heritage interest groups in the city. They have been discussing design and usage ideas, and all feedback is being considered in the evolving plans for Leah’s Yard and wider Cambridge Street site.
