Devonshire Green demolition is going ahead

The Council have decided to bulldoze a section of Devonshire Green and its shops, despite hundreds of Sheffield residents protesting outside the planning meeting. 

Sheffield City Council today announced the bulldozing of 162 to 170 Devonshire Street, in order to build flats, restaurants and bars in its place.

At the Town Hall meeting, 7 voted in favour of the demolition, 3 to save the shops and 1 abstained from voting.

Mardy bum

An online petition to save the street collected an extraordinary 20,000 signatures, and many gathered in protest outside of the Town Hall today, chanting and speaking out in anger.

The street is home to a variety on independent shops, including popular book and record story Rare and Racy, and many have cried out against this “loss of heritage”.

In a statement, the Council said that their hands were tied: “We are in an extremely difficult situation that is frustrating for the Council, because although technically we make the decision on planning applications, our hands are tied by the stringent planning laws set out by the government.

“If we did not follow these laws we would be putting the Council under a big risk of being taken to an appeal by the developer, with the Council facing huge legal bills.”

Several musicians including Jarvis Cocker, Arctic Monkeys’ Matt Helders, and local band Drenge, had all signed the petition and spoken about their love for Devonshire.