Plan to turn historic Ecclesfield cafe into house blocked by councillors

There was an outcry when plans were submitted to Sheffield City Council to convert Mobri Bakery in St Mary’s Lane, Ecclesfield, into a home. The grade II-listed building dates back to at least the 17th century. The stone-built former barn has rare original cruck beams.

East Ecclesfield ward councillor Alan Woodcock stepped down from chairing the council planning committee so that he could object. The council has received more than 70 objections, plus a 240-signature petition.

Cafe worker Kirsty Foster told the meeting: “Sheffield City Council highlighted that the surrounding area is a townscape of merit.

“There are groups that cycle to see this every year and they bring people from out of town to this. It won’t be visible for anybody to see if you take this away.

“The police have their pop-up there. That is where all the community can come and speak to the police in confidence. They can’t get down to the police station, it’s too far away and there’s not a bus route to it.

“The council stated in 2021 that if a business serves the community the usage should not be changed. You can tell how important this is to our small community by the amount of objections and signatures that have been put in.

“We survived the epidemic and we need to survive this now. It’s people’s livelihoods, it’s not just a business or a building. People from the surrounding areas, we delivered food to them, we’d even go for their shopping during the epidemic because they were unable to go to the shops themselves.”

She said five jobs were at risk.

‘Protect our heritage assets’

Cllr Woodcock said: “This is a heritage building within a conservation area. At present the business owner lets anyone go in to look at the crucks. If this becomes a residential building, that will be lost to the public.

“I believe it’s a community hub. The business owner allows people to go in for a warm. We’ve got a cost-of-living crisis at the moment. They don’t need to buy.”

Cllr Nighat Basharat said: “My biggest concern is this community, about the value of it. I’ve seen that within my role as a community development worker, how much this has a value to the local people that use this space.”

Cllr Barbara Masters said the protection of historic environments is reflected in the draft Local Plan, which is undergoing “a full and lengthy adoption procedure”.

“It makes a number of references to how we should protect our heritage assets, including their features and setting. I don’t accept that the proposal to convert the bakery, with its open access to historic features, to a private dwelling, where public access is denied will fulfill this.”

She said that the draft plan emphasises local services and jobs, “so why are we considering a proposal which will force the people to travel for the goods and services they desire, but also putting people out of work?”.

The committee rejected the proposal on the grounds that layout changes will affect the listed features and involve the loss of a community asset.

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