Much ado about tiling

Today’s edition focuses on Urban Splash’s plans for the Cole Brothers building, and why their proposed changes to the modernist icon might not be chiming with the heritage groups who fought for its listing. While the disagreements over the developer’s proposals will play out at a public consultation this afternoon, Historic England has already come out swinging, saying “Sheffield deserves better” and accusing Urban Splash of “removing its carefully designed post-war vision”.

As well as that we have news about Pulp’s first record in two decades being named album of the year, a beautiful story about local radio and a lovely home on the edge of Norfolk Heritage Park.

Before we get into it, a massive thank you to all of you who share our stories and tell your friends about The Tribune – you helped us reach our biggest milestone yet, 3,000 paying subscribers! It was a very special end to the week – cartoonist James Whitworth has even drawn us a special cartoon to celebrate the landmark.

In case you missed it

Last week we sent out three great newsletters to (we'll say it again) our 3,000 paying members. In the first, regular contributor Daniel Dylan Wray spoke to South Yorkshire-born artist Corbin Shaw about flags. Shaw made his name using Union Flags and St George Cross in his work. However, after a year in which the flag has exposed how bitterly divided the country is, how does he feel about them today?

In the second, Victoria spoke to academics at the University of Sheffield about their latest strike and university boards threats to dock an extra two weeks’ worth of their wages unless they schedule sessions to make up for the work students missed. The university argues that they are looking after the interests of their students, but staff have accused university bosses of pursuing an “aggressive and punitive” approach to industrial relations.

And on Saturday, we published The Tribune’s ultimate Sheffield Christmas gift guide. Holly Williams picked out 17 of the best Sheffield-themed Christmas gifts for the Steel City lover in your life, from Sheffield slang calendars and regional wines to Neepsend-made knives and Hope Valley honey. We also asked members to suggest their own gift ideas, and you didn’t disappoint. To see what our readers suggested, from hand-made penknives to theatre season tickets, see the comments section.

The big picture: Festive farmers 🚜

The Bradfield Christmas Tractor Run took place on Sunday, bringing more than 100 brightly decorated tractors to the streets of north west Sheffield. The convoy set off from Fox Valley at 5pm before finishing in Bradfield at around 7pm. The event raised more than £5,000 for its two chosen charities, The Sheffield 1000 and The Farming Community Network. Photo by Jason Siddall.

The big story: Much ado about tiling

Top line: Ahead of a public consultation this afternoon, a battle is raging over the future of the former John Lewis building in the city centre after Urban Splash published more detail on their plans for the building. Conservation group The Twentieth Century Society — who successfully campaigned for the building to be listed three years ago — have come out all guns blazing, saying “this level of harm to a listed building is unnecessary”, and urging Urban Splash to ensure they respect its “architectural significance”. But Clive Betts MP has pushed back, saying the critics have “no plan of their own”.

Rewind: Originally — and now once more — known as the Cole Brothers building, this purpose-built department store was constructed in 1963. The Cole Brothers business, founded in 1847 by brothers John and Thomas, originally sold silk and hosiery and had its first home on a corner in Fargate, colloquially known as Coles Corner. By the time the business moved to its famous building on Barker’s Pool, it had been snapped up by the retailer John Lewis.

Heartbreak: In the summer of 2021, John Lewis decided it was no longer interested in having a store in Sheffield, devastating the city. Some of the almost 300 staff who abruptly lost their jobs printed t-shirts to commemorate the store’s demise, while more than 24,000 people signed a petition urging the retailer to change its mind. As councillor Douglas Johnson told The Tribune two years ago, many felt John Lewis had “turned its back on the city” despite “many years of being frankly handed to by the council”. This included the council purchasing the building’s lease for £3.4 million, in order to offer the business a sweeter deal on rent, just a year before the closure announcement came. 

“Ludicrous” listing: In 2022, in the middle of a developer bidding process to decide who would revitalise the shuttered building, The Twentieth Century Society succeeded in their bid to have the building Grade-II listed. The decision wasn’t universally welcomed. The Sheffield Star ran a front-page splash delivering a one-word verdict: “Ludicrous”. A number of the 18 developers who had expressed interest in the building quickly dropped out of the race. However, the Twentieth Century Society insisted the listing had been necessary to protect this Modernist “crown jewel” from demolition. Urban Splash, well-known locally for redeveloping the also-listed Park Hill flats, were given the contract to redesign the building in June 2023.

What are the plans? Urban Splash plans to turn the Cole Brothers building into a mixed-use space capable of supporting 1,000 jobs. Their plans include “lively retail, food and drink” on the ground floor, “flexible workspace for Sheffield’s best businesses” on the three floors above and “a few surprises dotted around in the basement and the roof”. (Their full proposals suggest the basement is “perfectly suited” for a gym, nightclub or live music venue — and, perhaps to illustrate this point, the developer threw a night DJed by local legends Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley last week.) “The rebirth of this landmark will drive the continuing regeneration of Sheffield city centre,” Urban Splash writes, “bringing people, jobs and creativity right back into the centre of the city.”

Changes: Urban Splash insists they will be redeveloping the building with the lightest touch possible, retaining as much of the original building as possible. However, “where elements have reached the end of their life, or limit future flexibility, they will be carefully removed”. This includes replacing the current windows and removing the brown glass mosaic tiles on the façade of the building. (However, the white ceramic tiles on the building will be repaired and, where necessary, replaced.)

What’s the problem? Though these may sound like relatively minor details, conservation groups Historic England and The Twentieth Century Society are highly concerned. In their submission to Sheffield Council, Historic England insists these changes “would fundamentally alter the character” of the building’s exterior, pointing out that the new windows would be “in a different rhythm” and set back by 1.7m to allow for balconies, while these parts of the building “would be reclad in new areas of tile and metalwork panels”. 

Such changes, they insist, are about more than just replacing material that has been worn out over the years and actually amount to “greatly redesigning” the exterior. “By introducing new architectural features and design details which do not respect, reinforce, reveal or respond to the architects’ post-war vision, a critical part of the building is permanently lost.” In their objection to the plans, the Twentieth Century Society insisted: “This level of harm to a listed building is unnecessary.”

‘No plan of their own’: The Sheffield Star reported last week that MP Clive Betts criticised the groups for objecting to the proposals with “no plan of their own”, but the Twentieth Century Society insisted it isn’t trying to block the development and reiterated: “The best outcome for all is for this important building to be brought back into use. We welcome proposals to safeguard the former Cole Brothers building into the future but these changes cannot forget that this building is listed and that holds importance too.”

Can a compromise be reached? Urban Splash invites the public to a consultation on the proposals for the building from 4.30pm until 7.30pm today at the Barker’s Pool building. Mark Latham, regeneration director, promised the developer is “committed to giving the public a genuine opportunity to help guide its next chapter” and insisted the developer understands the importance of the building and that the consultation process will be “an important part of getting that right”.

Your Tribune briefing 🗞️

💿 Jarvis Cocker responded to the news that More, Pulp’s first album in over two decades, was named The Times’ album of the year with typical Sheffield humility: “That’s good, isn’t it?” Yesterday, he spoke to the Sunday Times about his career so far, including the moment he interrupted Michael Jackson’s performance at the 1996 Brit awards — “I thought, is it even worth being in a band, given that it’s f***ed my life up?” — and how he feels now about some of the hits that made Pulp famous. As for whether fans can expect another album, it seems there’s cause for hope. “It’s been a really good experience, so you think, why not carry on? We’ll rehearse in January and see whether things are happening or not.”

🚨 Two firearms incidents took place within 25 minutes of each other on Saturday evening, police have revealed. In the first incident, shots were fired at an address on Oxford Street, Upperthorpe, at 9.42pm. No one was injured but police later said that a child was inside the property at the time. In the second incident, which took place at 10.06pm, shots were fired at a block of flats on Edward Street in the city centre. Police say they are treating the incidents as linked. The Star also reports that the Oxford Street shooting happened just a few hundred metres away from where 32-year-old Kassim Mohammed was shot dead in December. No one has yet been charged with his murder.

🦉 Along with The Star and BBC Sheffield, the Daily Mail’s Mike Keegan has been doing a lot of the running with the Sheffield Wednesday sale story. Yesterday he reported that the number of bids had been whittled down to three. These are believed to include a joint bid between US billionaire John McEvoy and the Storch family (who were previously interested in buying Plymouth Argyle), Sports Direct boss and former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, and Dunfermline Athletic co-owner James Bord. He also reports the sale price is expected to be around £30 million. However, as well as securing the most money for the club’s creditors, the administrators also need to be sure that a preferred candidate will pass the EFL’s Owners and Directors Test, and “the two may not go hand in hand”, Keegan adds.

🎄 The story of the oldest Christmas tree in Sheffield comes back every year without fail, but somehow never loses its charm. The 105-year-old tree was bought for sixpence in Woolworths in 1920 by its current owner Kay Ashton’s grandmother. It has since survived eight house moves and was even flung across the room during the Sheffield Blitz in 1940. Kay said the tree is now so fragile that touching it or even breathing on it is enough to send it toppling over. “You couldn't even begin to contemplate putting lights on it, that'd kill it off,” she added. “The kids and grandkids think it's hilarious. They ask me 'is the twig up yet?’”

📰 It’s not often that we recommend stories from elsewhere in the country, but we were all extremely moved by reading this story in The Post. It’s by David Lloyd, a regular freelancer for our Merseyside sister newspaper, who writes about BBC Radio Merseyside, a radio station that made him “feel the world moving through you… its invisible wages connect you to something magical and mysterious” and helped him through his grief after he lost his mum in August. The story also speaks to the importance of local radio stations and the identity they give to a city. David writes: “They all spoke my language, in a way that the vocal fry of my favourite podcasts just don’t. Local radio lives in that rare space where intimacy and community collide. Close enough to feel like it’s speaking directly to you, shared enough to make you realise you’re part of something bigger.” Read the full piece here.

💼 Finally, our colleagues in Manchester are hiring. They’re looking for a marketing and events assistant who wants to work in a fast-paced startup, can come up with creative ideas for readers' events and social media campaigns and loves working with a team in an office environment. If you’re interested, apply by Sunday 4 January 2026 by emailing hiring@millmediaco.uk with a CV and covering letter about why you think you’re a good fit. 

Home of the week 🏡

We love this beautifully-appointed three bedroom detached home perched on the very edge of Norfolk Heritage Park. As well as spacious gardens to the front and rear, the house also boasts a detached garage and a driveway for two vehicles. It is on the market for £300,000.

Things to do 📆

Christmas 🎄 On now at Sheffield Cathedral is their much-loved annual Christmas tree festival. The beautiful and historic cathedral is currently filled with more than 40 trees, each decorated by a local charity, community group or business, creating a colourful and joyful display which is perfect for all the family. You can even vote for your favourite tree with the winners receiving a donation. Admission is free. The festival runs until Sunday, 11 January.

Art 🖼️ On now at Yorkshire Artspace’s Persistence Works studios is Unquiet Landscapes, an exhibition that takes you “on a journey into landscapes that are both real and imagined, psychological and metaphorical, opening up a terrain that reflects our relationship with the landscape today”. Which sounds nice. The exhibition showcases 38 artists, continuing a series at YAS celebrating contemporary painting in Britain, and is completely free to enter.

Music 🎸 On Thursday Doves return to the Octagon as part of a nationwide tour to mark the upcoming release of their sixth studio album Constellations For The Lonely. Formed in Wilmslow from the remnants of dance act Sub Sub, Doves shot to fame in the early 2000s. After a string of hit albums, the band took a ten-year hiatus in 2010 before returning with critically-acclaimed album The Universal Want. Tickets are £35 and doors open at 8pm.