New lease of life planned for Sheffield's Adelphi building
The derelict Grade II listed building could be turned into a fitness centre
Sheffield’s well known Adelphi building could have a new lease of life as a sports and fitness academy.
The Grade II listed building dates back to 1918 and originally opened as a Picture House but has since had many uses, including a bingo hall and nightclub.
Now the charity Olympia Wellbeing Academy wants to transform the Georgian style building, which sits between Vicarage Road and Attercliffe Road, into an educational facility.
Architects Coda Bespoke say in a planning application: “The building has a red facade with ornate brick details. Buff stone pillars frame the entrance with blue coloured terracotta elements and stained glass windows.
“Internally the features add to its grandeur with detailed ceilings, granite floors and wide staircases.
“The proposal involves the re-use of the ground floor as an educational facility involving mentoring through sports and fitness.
“The objective is to mentor children in a group of five with two members of staff between 8am-8pm seven days a week.
“There are no internal or external changes proposed other than to clean the building up. At ground floor the existing entrance hall is to be retained.
“The existing dance floor is to be used as a multi-functional exercise area and the area where the floor is raised is to be split into a cardio area and resistance and weights space.
“The development has been carefully designed to make sure that the impact on the surrounding area is limited and the design attempts to retain the character.”
The Adelphi has undergone several restorations over the years, starting in the 1930s. It closed for a month after being damaged in the Blitz but survived the worst of the bombing.
The Picture Theatre closed in 1967 and it then became a bingo club. When that closed in 1995 it opened as a nightclub with table top dancing.
In 2000 it was converted into a music teaching centre, which then closed in 2006. The building stood unused until 2013 when it was advertised for sale at an auction for £100,000.