'Cultural vandalism' claim after Sheffield's Leadmill gutted

BBC News

3 days ago

The owner of Sheffield's former Leadmill venue has accused the outgoing tenant of "aggressively" removing fixtures and fittings and leaving the building an empty shell.Dominic Madden, whose Electric Group owns the building, said he was "shocked" at the state of the building after Phil Mills of Leadmill Ltd left the property on Wednesday.He also accused Mr Mills of "cultural vandalism" after a stone frieze above the main entrance was removed.Leadmill Ltd said it had removed the artwork in order to "lovingly rehome it" at a later date and that it had left the building in the state the lease required.
Mr Madden told BBC Radio Sheffield the building, which closed in June, had been left with bare walls and floors and with all the external doors removed."I think Mr Mills has a particularly aggressive interpretation of the lease," he said."He was entitled, contractually, to take certain things out of the building, but whether he has the moral authority to do so is something completely different."Sheffield City Council said its dangerous structures team had responded to concerns the external doors had been removed and the building was unsafe. It added it was satisfied the Electric Group had since made the building secure.Leadmill Ltd, however, shared a before and after photo from the venue, saying it had left the building in the same state as when it had moved in as a tenant.
Mr Madden said the artwork removal was "a very sad state of affairs" and said he would restore it if it was returned."This is a piece of public art that was created in the early 1980s by an artist. It was commissioned and paid for by the original charity at the Leadmill, funded by Sheffield Council, so it is a public piece of art."Again Mr Mills has a pretty aggressive, extreme interpretation of what he feels are his fixtures and fittings."My legal advice from a senior barrister is absolutely clear, the Electric Group owns the building and the frieze forms part of the fabric of the building."It is basically cultural vandalism. It's appalling and Mr Mills really should do the right thing and give it back."
Leadmill Ltd said the lease "very clearly" listed what belonged to them.A spokesman said: "The building was empty and derelict before we took it over in 1980 and made it into a much loved venue so [Mr] Madden's comments about whether we paid for our own belongings makes no sense."The frieze is a lovely piece of art and was something that was commissioned by The Leadmill early in our existence, it wouldn't have existed had we not moved into the building in the 1980s."Our intention was to carefully remove each section so that it can be lovingly rehomed with us at a later date."We were sadly prevented from removing the bottom half but obviously want to reunite both sides with us which we will be getting advice on."Sheffield City Council previously said planning permission was not obtained to remove the frieze.A spokesperson for the authority said its planning team was currently in the process of assessing what enforcement powers were available in relation to the breach.
Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North