UKC

Climbers Protest About Closure Of the School Room

© Paul BEnnett
Further to Paul Bennett's report at UKClimbing.com about the closure of the infamous 'School Room' boards in Sheffield's Heeley Bank School building. Climber's are protesting, as well as signing a petition at 'The Climbing Works' to try and persuade Sheffield City Council to keep this building open. See this photo of some direct action that includes "climbers abseiling down the threatened building."

The issue made it into the Sheffield Star newspaper and quoted Rich Heap of Slackjaw.

Sheffield climber and film maker Richard Heap, said: "The climbing facility, is one of the best in the country and is internationally renowned as producing some of the best climbers in the world.

I've climbed all over the world including in the Himalayas and on the big walls of Yosemite, USA, but I always come back to the School Room to train. It's a completely unique training facility with nowhere better to get strong. Closing it down would be sacrilege - equivalent to Sheffield losing Brendan Ingle's boxing gym."

Source: www.thestar.co.uk


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24 Jul, 2007
I've never heard of Brendan Ingle's boxing gym. Cheers, FT.
24 Jul, 2007
Most people in Sheffield will have though and it's a local newspaper article which is why Rich will have referenced it. I would have thought.
31 Jul, 2007
The Council has agreed not to sell the Building now & negotiate .... Sheffield Star - 28th July U-turn over plans to sell off community centre By Polly Rippon SHEFFIELD Council has made a U-turn over plans to sell a community centre in a listed building - after the scheme was opposed by people who said they hadn't been consulted. Following a protest the Grade II listed Heeley Bank Community Centre, home to artists’ studios and an internationally-acclaimed rock-climbing training facility, has been taken off the market. The planned sale had been reported in The Star this week. Sheffield Council leader Coun Jan Wilson said the centre was one of two buildings the authority had wanted to dispose of due to their deteriorating condition. The pair were to be replaced with one alternative building. But she told The Star the council is willing to reconsider. "Users have come back and said we don't want you to dispose of it,” she said. “We have taken notice and taken the building off the market so we can talk to users about its future." Campaigners against the closure put up a huge banner on the building and signed a petition to save the 130-year-old former school. They say they were not consulted about the plans and only found out about the sale of the building when they were served with notices to leave. Climber Seb Grieveo f the Save Heeley Bank Centre campaign said: “We have a meeting with council represen-tatives next week so we will see what happens then. We are very pleased they have taken it off the market.” I didn't know Seb was Spanish!! ;0) Si
31 Jul, 2007
Thanks for posting that Si, things were trickling through but weren't overly clear...
31 Jul, 2007
No worries - I got the paper on saturday running about with the hard rock team - & as our staff are planning to strike & were front page headlines ...!!! saw it nice to see some good news for once!! ;0) si
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