SAVE Britain’s Heritage Director Clem Cecil confirmed on BBC Radio Sheffield Monday 29th April, that pre-application letters have been exchanged between Sheffield City Council and SAVE’s solicitors ahead of a possible Judicial Review of the decision to allow Sheffield University to demolish the Grade II Jessop Edwardian building. You can listen to Clem Cecil’s interview below and there is also more comment in the Sheffield Telegraph here
This is of course brilliant news for the campaign to save the building. As concern continues to escalate and with national organisations now stepping in (with real clout – SAVE’s legal team have a formidable track record), the hope at this early stage is that Sheffield University can acknowledge they have been poorly advised and withdraw their application to demolish the building. That would be a very difficult decision to make given all that has been invested in plans to date, but in terms of raising the profile of the University and ensuring they are remembered as an ethical and responsible partner with the community, it would be an astute move. Moreover, at a national level, Sheffield University would be remembered as the University that ‘thought again’, before setting what could be a very dangerous precedent for the Nation’s Heritage.