Controversial food hall plan on Ecclesall Road resubmitted after complaints

Controversial plans for a late night food hall on a trendy Sheffield street have come back for a decision after a string of changes.

‘Founders and Co’ on Ecclesall Road will go before councillors on August 15 after the original plans were pulled in January.

Inventive Service Company wants to transform the vacant and derelict Gothic Sunday school building at 605 Ecclesall Road. It had hoped to open between 7am and 1.30am but ran into opposition from residents and all three Broomhill and Sharrow Vale councillors. The site backs on to terraced houses on Neill Road.

The application comes as food halls boom in popularity, with sites at The Moor Market, Kommune, Cutlery Works, Sheffield Plate and Oughtibridge, with new venues set to open on Cambridge Street and even the former Debenhams on The Moor.

Revised plans for Founders and Co show a new 11.30pm closing time and a ’significant reduction’ in the size of the roof terrace which is now ‘contained towards the front half of the building’ and incorporates privacy screening, a letter to the planning department states.

In January, local councillor Brian Holmshaw said there was a long-established 11.30pm planning curfew in the Ecclesall Road and Sharrow Vale area and he hoped the deferral will allow more time to consult with the community.

He said: “We now hope the applicants have the opportunity to properly consult local residents and it would not be unreasonable to expect that licensing hours are reduced in line with the many objections from local people.

“[We, local councillors,] welcome this site being brought back into use, but we have strong concerns over late night noise and disturbance in this established residential area.

As well as noise, the original plans sparked concerns over parking and a “surplus” of food and drink businesses in the area.