BBCMore than three years after it closed its doors Sheffield’s former Cole Brothers store – later John Lewis – has reopened to the public to show off plans to redevelop the site.
First opened in 1963, the grade II listed building became a city landmark.
In 2023 regeneration firm Urban Splash was charged with restoring the building, with plans including cafes, shops, leisure facilities and flexible workspace.
As a 12-day consultation period began with people invited to share their hopes and dreams for the regeneration project, the BBC went to speak to those who dropped in to view the proposals.
‘I worked here and was sad to see it go’
Carl James, who used to work in the audio and TV department, was among the people to visit the building on Tuesday.
“It was like a family at John Lewis, everyone knew each other,” he said.
“You stayed in touch with people even years after you left, which is unusual in my experience of workplaces.
“It used to be very much an anchor point for the city centre. We had a lot of customers who would drive in, especially from North Derbyshire, just to come to John Lewis.
“The cheaper parking and the central location definitely helped and when it closed it would have had a knock on effect on the city centre.
“There was a deep sadness when this place closed, I think a lot of people were very attached to it.
“It would be nice to see it reopened in some form. If it’s cheaper and more environmentally friendly to refit the old store rather than demolish it and build a new one, that is a positive.”
‘Sheffield needs another department store’
Susan Kipling, 70, said she wanted to see more shops that cater for people her age.
“Losing John Lewis has been a big loss to the city centre,” she said.
“Most of the shops are not really for my age group, they are for the younger ones.
“I do go down to Atkinsons because that seems to be the only department store that is for my age group.
“I would like to see another department store here, if not John Lewis somebody like them.”
‘Unique building’
Chris Smith said he used to be a frequent shopper at John Lewis but feels now that city centres have changed.
“Sheffield city centre has gone through quite a lot of changes and development and wants to be multiple things,” he said.
“Maybe John Lewis could be part retail, part workspace, maybe part event or art space.
“It’s such a unique building and there’s a good opportunity to expand it out to more than just being a department store, which it is never going to be again.
“Retail on that scale is on the way out.”
‘It has been a huge loss’
Wayne Johnson said he too shopped at Cole Brothers and John Lewis many times over the years.
“The building has always interested me so I came down to have a quick look,” he said.
“We used to come to Sheffield four or five times a year, we did our Christmas shopping here and bought our major appliances here, because there was not a John Lewis at Meadowhall.
“There is only Atkinson’s now, we don’t have Debenhams or anything else, so it has been a huge loss.
“The cafe and the shop used to do very well and it has been a shame seeing such a big building just going to waste.
“I would like to see a multitude of shops within the development, like a shopping mall with concessions within it, to make use of it.”
‘We want people’s big crazy ideas’
Mark Latham, regeneration director with Urban Splash, said the building was a blank canvas which is both “a privilege and a challenge”.
“It is an amazing framework of a building, obviously everybody is used to seeing it full of stuff but it is empty and it has been stripped out but that allows us to be flexible and we want to hear from the people of Sheffield what they would like to see coming back into this building,” he said.
“We cannot make promises that we can do everything people suggest to us, but we definitely want to hear everyone’s big, crazy, ambitious ideas because it is a building that belongs to all of Sheffield and we have been given the privilege of looking after it and trying to deliver it back for Sheffield.”
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