Resident’s protest halts destruction of Sheffield University building

A resident brought the partial demolition of a £65 million Sheffield University building to a halt.

People living nearby complained about the dust being produced and the noise, which was described as “deafening”.

Work began on the university’s Faculty of Social Sciences building in May 2019, but issues with the foundation of the building now mean that the entire structure will be torn down and rebuilt.

The new building is expected to be completed in 2022, around a year later than planned.

After a series of complaints about the “unbearable” noise, Conor O’Callaghan sat on a camping chair in front of a digger at the construction site in the morning of Friday 21 August.

Workers were forced to down tools for two hours during the protest before police arrived and escorted him away, issuing him with a caution.

Speaking to the Sheffield Star, Mr O’Callaghan said that his complaints had been ignored by both the university and BAM, the contractors behind the build, and that the protest was a last-ditch attempt to get their attention.

It was always planned to be safe, peaceful and respectful and I was supported by all the neighbours who came along to cheer me on

– Conor O’Callaghan

 

He said: “They were all lovely on-site and I apologised to them. A lad came over and asked what I was doing so I explained and he said ‘can’t you just send them an email?’

“I said I’d been doing that over the last 18 months with no joy – we’re at our wits end. It’s absolutely deafening.

“It was always planned to be safe, peaceful and respectful and I was supported by all the neighbours who came along to cheer me on.”

The university said that the partial demolition was “necessary” to make alterations to the structure of the building, which BAM will then rebuild.

It has previously apologised to residents for the disruption.

BAM said that it feels “badly” about the impact on those living nearby, given that there is a “very limited” amount that can be done while work takes place.

It said: “We are truly sorry that this is so disruptive for the neighbours. We are acutely conscious of the impact this has on those around us, in particular on a very close group of neighbours. We do apologise for this.”

It also added it had offered the near neighbours alternative working space away from the construction site, but none have taken it up so far.