What we are doing

The Friends of Meersbrook Hall want to see Meersbrook Hall remain in public ownership, and for it to be sympathetically refurbished and brought back to life as a thriving hub of the community once again. We want a revitalised Hall to bring new life to Meersbrook Park – through celebrating the Hall’s rich heritage, providing new facilities for park users and complementing and enhancing some of its other wonderful features such as the Walled Garden.

In order to achieve this, we have:

• Regular dialogue and consultation with our members and the local community.
• Undertaken early feasibility studies which indicate that our plan to redevelop the building as mixed community and business use is entirely possible.
• Agreed a temporary ‘licence to occupy’ the Hall with Sheffield City Council allowing us to move into the building in May 2016 so that it remains in regular use and is cared for.
• Established a steering group with local partners to oversee the development of the project.

Our plans for the future include:

• Negotiating a long term lease to secure the community’s stewardship of the building and to enable us to make long term plans for its future development.
• Applying for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to remodel the building in a way that celebrates its heritage and also widens the scope for use of the building by the community and local businesses.
• Hiring space to local residents and organisations for meetings, training and social events.
• Running heritage events within the Hall and Park for the local community and beyond.

(see About the Friends: Our Story So Far for more details)

The Steering Group

Over the past 60 years Meersbrook Hall has lost its connection with its kitchen garden, known locally as the Walled Garden, and the wider park. Part of our redevelopment plans involve reconnecting the Hall with its surrounding landscape. To reflect this desire and to ensure that all the relevant stakeholders work closely together, the Meersbrook Hall Steering Group was established in April 2016 to oversee the development of the project. It consists of the Friends of Meersbrook Hall management committee, Meersbrook Park Users Trust committee members and Heeley Development team members. You can read the terms of reference for the group here. The steering group will oversee the development of the project, though all major decisions will be discussed with and agreed by the Friends of Meersbrook Hall membership.