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Rare & Racy, a second-hand books and record shop in Sheffield's Devonshire Quarter. Developers plan to demolish the independent shops on the street.
Rare & Racy is one of several independent shops on Sheffield’s Devonshire Street that appear doomed by a developer’s decision to demolish buildings. Photograph: Gary Calton
Rare & Racy is one of several independent shops on Sheffield’s Devonshire Street that appear doomed by a developer’s decision to demolish buildings. Photograph: Gary Calton

Sheffield's Rare & Racy: the independent music store Jarvis Cocker says it would be 'a crime to destroy'

This article is more than 9 years old

Despite a 20,000-strong petition, Sheffield City Council recently voted in favour of demolishing this much-loved shop. So what does that say for the future of the city’s so-called ‘independent quarter’?

Jarvis Cocker calls it a “global treasure” that it would be “a crime to destroy”. Protesters have signed a petition in record numbers. But still the developers have won the day and, as the former snooker world champion Steve Davis puts it, “a little bit of the character of Sheffield will die” with the planned demolition of the city’s quirky independent book and music shop, Rare & Racy.

In business since 1969, the shop on Devonshire Street is one of a trio of small retailers whose current homes appear doomed after Sheffield City Council recently voted in favour of demolition and a new development. The property owner’s agents, Coda Planning, insist there are longer-term structural problems with the buildings, adding that the replacement new-build will be sympathetic to the existing design and that provision of flats on the upper floors will contribute “to the urban village feel of the area”.

While Rare & Racy’s outstanding lease could yet protect it for another two years, the council’s decision has provoked local outrage: the shop’s demise is being seen as another example of the cull of independent retailers occurring in city centres throughout the UK and beyond. More than 20,000 people signed a petition against the proposals – a record for Sheffield City Council.

Rare & Racy’s owner, Alan Capes. Photograph: Gary Calton

The shop itself has a cosy, homely feel that seems naturally sealed off from the modern world; a trip back to a time before music meant iPods, before books meant Amazon or two bestsellers for £7 in Tesco or Sainsbury. Or, as one regular over the last 20 years, Barry Kelly, puts it: “This place looks, feels and smells as a real shop should … It’s all about the music and the books, no hard-sell and no pressure to buy a half-price Toblerone when you reach the till.”

The shop’s co-owner, Alan Capes, has seen plenty of famous faces browsing the piles of books, old vinyl, CDs and artwork over the years. In its early days the Human League’s Phil Oakey used to drop in after school; Richard Briers and Jools Holland have popped by. For Davis, it has long been a destination of choice whenever he is in Sheffield as host of the world snooker championships at the Crucible theatre.

“I’ve been visiting Rare & Racy ever since I stumbled upon it back in the 90s. It’s such an uplifting place, a real treasure trove of amazing music, books, magazines and art,” Davis says. “The area around the Crucible has gone through a superb transformation – but it’s also great to have a bit of history to visit when you come to a city, and if this row of shops bites the dust a little bit of the character of Sheffield will die. It’s one of the few areas of the city centre that still retains a bit of original charm.”

Artwork on the rear of the Rare & Racy building. Photograph: Gary Calton

Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker had previously taken to social media to deplore the proposals: “They say if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London then the whole place will collapse. I kind of feel if Rare & Racy leave Devonshire Green then a special part of Sheffield will collapse.”

Born and brought up in the Steel City, Cocker recalled being “entranced by the place when I first visited it on a shopping trip with my mum when I was a kid. I’m absolutely amazed they’ve managed to keep the spirit of the place alive throughout all the intervening years ... I’ve travelled all over the world and I’ve never encountered a place like it – and I’ve been in a lot of record shops. Nowhere have I heard music like they play in Rare & Racy. Never mind it being a local treasure: it’s a global treasure.”

If and when the block goes, one of Rare & Racy’s neighbours – the independent clothing shop Syd and Mallory’s Emporium – will also be without a home. The outlet has provided costumes for the upcoming This Is England TV series, and co-owner Kirsteen Hardie says the council’s decision belies its claims that the area is the city’s independent quarter.

Rare & Racy beside Syd and Mallory’s Emporium, who also face being without a home. Photograph: Gary Calton

Pointing out a Taco Bell outlet that recently moved in barely 100 yards down the street, Hardie says: “They haven’t protected it, have they? It’s not an independent quarter because no independents can afford to be here, or they get kicked out and the council does nothing about it.”

Labour councillor Leigh Bramall said: “We are in an extremely difficult situation that is frustrating for the council, because although technically we make the decision on planning applications, our hands are tied by the stringent planning laws set out by the government.

“If we did not follow these laws, we would be putting the council under a big risk of being taken to an appeal by the developer ... and [potentially] facing huge legal bills. What we need to see is the council being given the powers to make the decisions to shape the future of our high streets, so we can make these decisions locally, listening to the views of local people rather than having to follow arbitrary rules made up by bureaucrats in Whitehall.”

Local Labour MP Paul Blomfield, who formally lodged his objection to the application, acknowledges the development will put Sheffield’s independent quarter at risk: “We’re at a time when retail is changing enormously, when online shopping has taken off in a way no one anticipated, and there’s also out-of-town shopping, which Sheffield clearly has the biggest example of in Meadowhall.

“The role of our city centre has to be to offer something different and independent. Quirky shops sitting alongside independent bars and coffee shops are an important part of the mix that’s going to make our city centre work.”

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