BARK created the design concept. Credit: planning documents

Full steam ahead for Ecclesall Road food hall

17 August 2023 12:27 Neil Tague Comments (0)

Sheffield City Council has greenlit the conversion of a vacant Sunday school into a mixed-use scheme led by a food and drink offer.

The local authority’s planning & highways committee met on 15 August, and approved the proposals for 605 Ecclesall Road tabled by Axis Architecture on behalf of Revolution Bars Group.

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According to Axis’ design & access statement, the venue will be known as Founders & Co, a concept from BARK Design Studios originally rolled out by experienced leisure operator RBG in Swansea.

More recently operated as a heritage museum, the Gothic building was originally constructed as Endcliffe Sunday School in 1927, taking its architectural cues from the adjacent Methodist church, now known as The Well.

The building, vacant since 2011, is not listed and is not designated as a heritage asset, but is valued as contributing well to the area’s character, and planning officers had encouraged retention and re-use at pre-application stage on a former application.

What is proposed is the conversion of the main building to a food hall/street food restaurant with a small bar, small retail spaces and flexible seating areas that can be booked as meeting/business spaces.

The proposal would include the introduction of a mezzanine floor into the building and the construction of a single-storey extension to the Neill Road elevation at the building’s rear. The existing single-storey extension is to be allow for a roof terrace

Professional advisors on the project include ArcHeritage, Eastwood & Partners Consulting Engineers and Environmental Noise Surveys.

Food halls, often combined with event spaces, have proven a winner in the leisure market in recent years, bringing a steady flow of diners and drinkers through the doors through the day and evening.

Sheffield already has venues including Kommune and the Cutlery Works, while a further destination is in the pipeline for Cambridge Street in the city centre.