New Ecclesall Road food hall in old Sheffield school building is backed by council officers

Inventive Service Company wants to transform a vacant and derelict Gothic style Sunday school building – last used as a university heritage museum between 1985 and 2011 – at 605 Ecclesall Road into a new street food hall.

It follows the success of food halls such as Kommune, Cutlery Works and Sheffield Plate in other parts of the city.

If approved by the planning and highways committee next week, the main building will be converted into a restaurant hall with a small bar, shopping and flexible seating areas that could be booked for business meetings. Plans also include a new mezzanine floor and a single-storey extension at the back of the building.

Initial opening hours had closing times past midnight which prompted many objections from neighbouring residents.

Council officers also thought it was unacceptable and insisted on the venue having the same hours of 9am until 11.30pm that other businesses in the area have.

In a report prepared for the meeting, officers said: “Concerns of noise disturbance have been considered, and the hours of operation restricted accordingly. Any issues relating to noise sources can be adequately addressed through appropriate mitigation measures.”

They added: “Whilst there is no dedicated off-street car parking within the scheme it is considered that the highly sustainable location and the presence of a residents parking scheme render this insufficient reason to resist the application.

“It is recommended that the application be granted conditionally.”

Public reaction

There were 28 representations from members of the public including five letters of support, six neutral comments and 17 objections.

Those in support said it was an exciting proposal that will bring people to the area and support local business and that regeneration of the site was long overdue.

Objectors said the opening hours were unacceptable, a pedestrian link between Neill Road and Ecclesall Road would be lost and there were too many food and drink outlets in the area already.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, August 15 from 2pm.