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New hope for Sheffield's historic community centre
13 August 2007
News that plans to sell off a listed Victorian Board School on Heeley Bank Road have been put on hold whilst Sheffield Council consults the local residents using it as a community centre has been welcomed by the Victorian Society, the national charity campaigning for the Victorian and Edwardian historic environment.
Built in 1880 by leading school architect, ER Robson, the former Heeley Bank School is a handsome landmark in the Renaissance Revival style. It is one of only two Board Schools in Sheffield designed by Robson, who was the first ever London School Board architect. Since its closure as a school, the building has housed a community centre and provided accommodation for artists’ studios, writers’ groups and an internationally renowned rock-climbing training facility.
‘We’re delighted that Sheffield City Council has taken the Heeley Bank Community Centre off the market,’ said Alex Baldwin, Conservation Adviser of the Victorian Society. ‘It is a nationally significant building and a local asset and people clearly value it. Rather than trying to sell it off, the Council should be looking at what it can do to repair and maintain the building so that the community can continue to use and enjoy it for another 130 years.’
Last November, the Victorian Society ran a national conference on the future of historic school buildings. A conference report is available for free download at http://www.victoriansociety.org.uk/downloads/2006learningfromthepastreport.pdf
