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Latest news from the Sheffield Live! teams

Sheffield Live! Investment Offer opens to the public

Community share offer launched to reopen historic Castlegate pub as live arts and media venue

Plans to re-open a historic Sheffield city centre pub have been set out in a Community Investment Offer from Sheffield Community Media. The crowdfunding campaign is inviting the public to become community shareholders and co-owners in the development of a new live arts and media venue in the evolving Castlegate quarter.

The former Tap and Barrel, on Castlegate, was acquired earlier this year by Sheffield Community Media, the charitable community benefit society which hosts and supports Sheffield Live! radio and TV.

The building is situated opposite Lady’s Bridge and at the corner of what was once the inner courtyard of Sheffield’s mediaeval castle. The site has a rich history and has been the location of a public house since the 1790s when it was the Bull and Mouth Inn and a meeting place for early friendly societies and constitutional reform campaigners. The present building dates to 1927 and was constructed for the Duncan Gilmour brewery.

Sheffield Community Media plans to renovate the building to accommodate radio, TV and podcasting studios, to re-open the ground floor as a public cafe and bar, and to offer performance spaces for local artists and promoters.

“To bring this wonderful and historic building back into public use and to realise its full potential as a community asset will require significant planning and major investment”, says the Society in its Community Investment Offer document. To support the next phase of development it is inviting members of the public to become co-owners in this unique part of the city’s heritage and to become involved in its future development.

Steve Buckley of Sheffield Community Media said: “We have had a tremendous response to the news of our acquisition of the former Tap and Barrel. We are now inviting people to help us realise the full potential of this building as a venue for live music, performing arts and media, owned by and run for the benefit of the community.”

Sangita Basudev, co-founder of Sheffield Live! said: “So many people have shared with us their memories of the pub and its neighbourhood and their hopes for what it can become in the future. Now we need people to get on board, as community shareholders, to help raise the investment needed to restore and renew this unique city centre asset.

Sheffield Community Media has benefitted to date from support for the project from University of Sheffield, Co-operatives UK, Social Investment Business, Architectural Heritage Fund and the Key Fund. The Community Investment Offer has been awarded the Community Shares Standard Mark for achieving the national standard of good practice.

The Community Investment Offer is live and open to the public until 10 December 2026 on the Crowdfunder platform and via the Society’s website, with more information available at sheffieldlive.org/shares and on Crowdfunder at crowdfunder.co.uk/p/sheffieldliveshares.

S1 Artspace plans new life for old Post Office

A Grade II listed building in the heart of Sheffield is set to begin a new chapter as the new home of S1 Artspace, following years of vacancy and neglect.

The building, originally constructed in 1871, has had a long history in the city. It first served as Sheffield’s general head post office, before becoming home to the Sheffield Stock Exchange for around 50 years. By 1967, much of the building had been taken over by the Yorkshire Penny Bank, which remained there until the branch closed in 2014.

After being left vacant and sealed from 2017, the building was purchased by Sheffield-based arts charity, S1 Artspace in 2024. Years without maintenance had taken their toll, with blocked internal Victorian downpipes causing significant water damage.

Initial strip-out and repair work has since revealed some of the building’s original features, including 1920s wallpaper, coving, columns and sections of historic flooring.

The redevelopment will see the building restored while creating new spaces for artists and the public. On the ground floor, three galleries are planned, including the Banking Hall Gallery, which will feature extended parquet flooring, and the Exchange Hall Gallery, where later additions will be removed to restore the space to its original double-height proportions.

The Exchange Hall will also feature full-height windows and is planned as a space for sculpture, while a gallery shop will provide an additional public-facing element.

Further gallery space is planned for the first floor, alongside a new extension on the building’s existing flat roof which will provide artist studios. The second floor will contain additional studios and creative workspaces.

The basement will also be brought back into use, with further creative workspaces and a bar planned within the former bank vaults. One of the building’s historic 1911 Chatwood safes will even be incorporated into the bar as seating.

As a Grade II listed building, the redevelopment is being carried out alongside the council’s conservation officer and heritage advisers. The project is also working with Donald Insall Associates to ensure that important historic features are retained wherever possible.

Rather than discarding original materials uncovered during the restoration, the team plans to preserve, reuse or recreate features such as historic tiles and flooring within the new design.

The finished development aims to bring a long-vacant building back into public use while retaining its links to Sheffield’s past.

With galleries, artist studios, creative workspaces and a bar all planned for the site, the former post office, Stock Exchange and Yorkshire Penny Bank is set to take on another identity as a new space for art and creativity in the city.

“Sheffield Live! brings life to the community”: In conversation with Mauricio, presenter of Latino Times

Mauricio, host of Latino Times on Sheffield Live! each Monday between 5 and 7pm, has lived in Sheffield since 1975. 

Originally from Chile, Mauricio uses his radio show to highlight a variety of music genres from countries in Latin America. His show gives the opportunity for “everyone to listen to and learn more about the variety of the music from South America.” 

Mauricio has worked many different jobs throughout his life such as being a waiter, a bin man, a graphic designer and so much more. He joined Sheffield Live! after being introduced by a friend, who he later presented the show with. 

At the time, he was studying Communication Arts and became particularly skilled in interview techniques. Mauricio then adapted his skills from this course into his radio show as he was made aware that “there were no shows on Sheffield Live! that spotlighted Hispanic music and culture”. 

Latino Times was launched in 2009 and is described by Mauricio as a show of many parts. 

He told us: “Within the show you listen to a soul show, and R&B show, and a rock show all in one”. 

His most recent show included a range of music in genres such as rock, samba, jazz and folk music. 

Mauricio also uses his platform to “talk about the politics going on in Latin America… so people can learn a little bit more about the world”.

Mauricio acknowledges that after the Covid 19 lockdown, community radio had to adapt to restrictions and was not as active in that time, but he is “really happy I’ve been doing the show for all these years… because Sheffield Live! is the perfect community project.”

When talking to Mauricio about his favourite genres of music, he said: “I like all sorts of music, except for Reggaeton… I love heavy rock”. 

Mauricio believes Sheffield Live! is an important institution as it “brings life to the community and gives a voice to every group… It gives the diverse Sheffield community a voice.”

 

Castlegate Festival 2026 programme announced

The Castlegate Festival 2026 programme has been announced, including workshops and radio from Sheffield Live!

The tenth edition of the Castlegate Festival celebrates local organisations and institutions within the Castlegate area of Sheffield between September 12th and 20th 2026. 

The festival is a celebration of heritage as well as the rich arts, music and market scene, featuring food, music and workshops from a variety of community organisations including Sheffield Live!

On the 19th and 20th of September, Sheffield Live! Is bringing a dedicated radio station, Castlegate Festival Radio to the festival from our new home, 42 Waingate. Attendees of the festival can come along to see the building and contribute their stories as the radio broadcasts across the weekend plus listen to live music and chat from our team on DAB and online. 

Also in 42 Waingate, the old Tap and Barrel pub, Sheffield Live! Will be hosting a “Future Memories” exhibition, highlighting the history of the building whilst sharing personal stories and memories of those in the community. During this event, creative workshops will be held on the past, present and future of the Castlegate area and the former pub itself. 

More information about Castlegate Festival can be found at https://www.welcometosheffield.co.uk/visit/whats-on/castlegate-festival/

Keep an eye out on Castlegate Festival Radio for more updates about our festival schedule. 

 

Democracy Now! documentary showing in Sheffield

Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now! brings new documentary film Steal This Story, Please! to Sheffield in partnership with Sheffield Live!
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. They report daily on international political breaking news and aim to highlight a diverse range of voices and community. 
Sheffield Live! has been a broadcast partner with Democracy Now since 2014, being the first community TV channel in the UK to carry the daily broadcast. Sheffield Live! recently hosted two ‘Live from Sheffield’ productions of Democracy Now with Amy Goodman.
The film Steal this story, please! follows Goodman’ quest to expose stories of international importance that have been under-reported by mainstream media.
The documentary film takes us behind the scenes with Amy, the granddaughter of an Orthodox rabbi, raised in a tradition of asking hard questions, as she navigates a news landscape reshaped by technology, corporate consolidation, and political assaults on truth itself.
Partnered with Sheffield Live!, Steal this story, please!, will have a screening at Sheffield’s Showroom Cinema on Monday 31st August at 6pm as part of the Showroom’s DocNights series.

Sheffield Live! presenter proposes to fiancée live on air

Sheffield Live! presenter, Ben Keegan, proposed to his partner, Tracey Rogers, during his live radio show, Deserted Ireland Discs.

As Tracey discussed the final track of the show, Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood, reminiscing about a recent road trip on the way back from France, Ben asked her one more question before the song started playing. He got down on one knee and asked “Tracey, would you do me the honour of marrying me?” whilst presenting an engagement ring.

Initially, Tracey responded with laughter and asked if he “was tying his shoelaces again”. When speaking to the couple after this event, Tracey told us that Ben had previously got down on one knee on a trip to Venice, and then proceeded to tie his shoelaces.

When Tracey realised Ben was genuinely proposing to her, she went silent for around four seconds, which she told us was “a long time to be quiet for me”. Her answer to the big question was “Yes. There was no question that I would not say yes.”

Reflecting on the lead up to the proposal, Ben said “We’ve been together for twelve years in September and I love her very much… Once I decided to ask her, I thought, how should I ask her?”

“I realised I had the perfect platform with my radio show. I’ve been asking Tracey to come on this show for a while now, so I knew she wouldn’t suspect a thing.”

On Deserted Ireland Disks, a guest is invited each week to discuss their life and play songs related to specific moments and memories. Ben used this platform to create a new core memory for himself and Tracey on Sheffield Live!

Former pub to become new home for Sheffield Live!

42 Waingate - former Tap and Barrel

A disused Sheffield city centre pub is set to be re-opened as a live arts and community media centre following acquisition for Sheffield Live!, the city’s community radio and television operation. The former Tap and Barrel, on Castlegate, will be renovated to accommodate radio, TV and podcasting studios, a public cafe and bar, and performance space for artists and promoters.

Sheffield Community Media, which hosts Sheffield Live! radio and TV, has purchased the former public house with the support of social investment lender, The Key Fund. It plans to raise further investment from a community shares issue to refurbish the bar and performance spaces. The building is situated at the corner of the former site of Sheffield’s mediaeval castle, built on the Sheaf Field from which the city takes its name. The neighbourhood is undergoing major renovation including plans for a new urban park to open next year.

Steve Buckley of Sheffield Community Media said: “Acquisition of the former Tap and Barrel meets our long held ambition to find a space for live performance, community arts and social enterprise that can integrate with our broadcast media facilities. We are inviting people to get involved and we welcome expressions of interest in use of the space and contributing to the project.”

Sangita Basudev, co-founder of Sheffield Live! said: “We are excited to be moving to this iconic location, on the site of Sheffield’s former castle and opposite Lady’s Bridge, the first bridge across the River Don. With Castlegate now part of the city centre conservation area we look forward to developing our role in promoting local heritage and connecting communities.”

Tchiyiwe Chihana, director of African Voices Platform, a partner in the project, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to build on our work with Sheffield Live! and to contribute to a new space for community arts that will showcase our city’s diverse talent and enterprise.

Castlegate has a growing cluster of cultural activities from grassroots projects, like RiteTrax and Delicious Clam on Exchange Street, to major new arts facilities on Commercial Street, including the planned S1 Artspace visual arts gallery and Harmony Works centre for music education.

Sheffield Community Media has benefitted from support with concept design from the University of Sheffield School of Architecture and has been assisted by Co-ops UK in developing the investment model. It looks to build on these and other partnerships with plans for a year round programme of cultural events and activities.

As a community benefit society, Sheffield Community Media is preparing to launch a community investment offer inviting people who care about Sheffield’s culture, heritage and social enterprise to take an ownership stake in this ambitious new creative hub contributing to the regeneration of Sheffield’s historic core.

Sheffield Community Media is inviting interested parties to get in touch by writing to: info@sheffieldlive.org

Rotherham’s Ray Matthews recalls his “Path to Success”

Pensioner, charity marathon runner and former boxer Ray Matthews of Rotherham shared his memories in the book “Path to Success”. The publication narrates his early life and introduction to boxing as a means to combat bullying and goes on to tell his account of aspirations to complete multiple challenges. Among these, Matthews famously running seventy-five marathons in seventy-five days on his seventy-fifth birthday to raise £75,000 for charity. Report by Baillor Jalloh for Sheffield Live!

From the Sheffield Live archives June 2023