Another city centre shop to close

30 08 2008

Are the shops in town feeling the pinch?

You have probably already read that Racquets on Division Street is to close next week as owners John and Sue Howard are retiring and there are no interested buyers for the store. I only popped to Racquets occasionally, but I will miss it and it was another reason to go to town.

I’m a bit fed up of shops in town closing. Losing Fopp a couple of years ago was a massive blow (although it won’t have done the excellent Record Collector in Broomhill any harm), and with Gap being replaced by a bank, shopping trips to town are looking less and less compelling. I know those two were both chain stores, but I think a mix of independent and well-known outlets is a happy medium when it comes to shopping.

One reassuring fact is that the three examples here didn’t necessarily close because of Sheffield city centre’s ability to sustain the stores. However, the difficult economic conditions won’t have helped and the sooner the new retail quarter Sevenstone is built, the better. Fingers crossed that project won’t be delayed.


Comments : No Comments »
Tags : , , , , , , ,
Categories : city centre masterplan, planning, regeneration, sheffield, shopping, sport

View from the Moor

9 08 2008

See the hills from the Moor

Work continues apace on redevelopment of the Moor, and now that the buildings at the bottom have been almost cleared on the East-side, you get a clear view of St Mary’s church and the hills behind:

Photos like this must be reminiscent of how the Moor looked after the devastation of air raids in the Second World War.


Comments : No Comments »
Tags : , ,
Categories : city centre masterplan, development, planning, regeneration, sheffield

Should part of London Road become Chinatown?

17 05 2008

Would Sheffield’s Chinatown bring benefits to the city or create an ethnic ghetto?

Over the last few years there have been various reports regarding a proposal to officially designate an area of the city as Chinatown, although to date nothing concrete has been formally decided.

It is thought that any such development would be based around the London Road/Highfield area, a district that has traditionally been home for a number of Sheffield’s Chinese community. Three-and-a-half hectares has been earmarked for various restaurants, bars, a business centre and maybe a hotel.

Reactions to plan are varied. On one hand it is thought such an area would celebrate the neighbourhood’s diversity while developing tourism and boosting local businesses. Internationally, it could make Sheffield a more attractive proposition for Chinese investors, plus it may help draw in students from China to the city’s universities.

There are also reservations regarding the scheme and questions to be answered. London Road is presently home for multi-cultural mix of people from all over the world, so is it right to focus on one culture, creating an area just representing the Chinese? What would the impact be on a non-Chinese restaurant located within Chinatown?

Many of the famous Chinatowns of the world have been naturally created in port cities by immigrants; would manufacturing one in Sheffield be “fake”? Or does the fact that the idea has come from Sheffield’s Chinese community give it sufficient credibility? There is no mention of the scheme in the city centre masterplan, although of course not all of London Road is classed as being in the city centre.

In principal I’m cautiously in favour of the idea of Sheffield having a Chinatown, although it would need to be implemented with care and in full consultation with all existing residents, community groups, businesses and other stakeholders. If an agreeable and inclusive solution can be found then it could become an asset to the city.

Walking the dragon
Image by bits of rubble and used under Creative Commons license


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags : , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : city centre masterplan, development, drink, food, planning, pubs, regeneration, restaurants, sheffield

The Moor, Sheffield

7 05 2008

The long-overdue and continued redevelopment of one of Sheffield’s pedestrianised shopping streets

As a child and teenager embarking on a shopping trip in town I would always get off the bus outside Sharps fruit shop, walk past Dempsey’s and the Moorfoot government building before turning right up the Moor.

Despite rebranding attempts over the years, the Moor has always been somewhat rundown, with an above-average proportion of pound shops and boarded-up shop fronts. It is amazing to think that in the 1980s Hamleys chose to open a store here (one of the first outside London). Unfortunately it didn’t hang around for long - and people speculate that it perhaps took Redgates down with it.

Walking up the Moor today presents you with contrasting impressions of deprivation mixed with the green shoots of renewal. More shops than ever are boarded up, market stalls stand eerily empty and the businesses that remain trading are quiet. However, the dated post-war buildings are being bulldozed, cranes are moving in and the area is set to be redeveloped into a shopping destination and home for the relocated Castle markets.

The city centre masterplan defines the Moor as “a retail area catering mainly for the ‘value goods’ end of the market but with several major anchor stores” and it seems that planners are content to position the precinct in this sector of the market.

Hopefully the new and improved Moor will be able to cater for this while fitting in properly with the rest of the developments taking place in neighbouring quarters.

Contrasting impressions of deprivation mixed with the green shoots of renewal


Comments : No Comments »
Tags : , , , , , , ,
Categories : city centre masterplan, development, history, planning, regeneration, sheffield

Victoria quays and the Sheffield city centre masterplan

17 04 2008

An updated version of the masterplan details plans for how one redeveloped but undervalued corner of the city may finally be properly integrated with Sheffield city centre

The other day I downloaded a copy of the Sheffield city centre masterplan executive summary (1.5Mb, PDF) - the full 122-page, 3.2Mb PDF is also available if you fancy some hefty bedtime reading.

It begins by looking at what has been achieved since the original masterplan was unveiled in 2000, which by all accounts is impressive. In the last 10 years, parts of the city centre have changed almost unrecognisably, with the creation of several world-class urban spaces of which Sheffielders can be proud.

As the updated masterplan recognises, there is still plenty to do though. One of the projects that caught my eye was the continuing plans for the Victoria quays canal basin area.

From 1992–1994, this area was redeveloped, with warehouses restored, offices built and a marina created on one side of the basin. Shops, pubs, restaurants and hotels set up business and a number of residential developments have also since been located there.

The problem is, although the regeneration of Victoria quays is impressive, hardly anyone I know actually bothers to go down there. Other cities such as Newcastle, Liverpool and even Salford have redeveloped their quay sides to create leisure destinations for the day and night, but for some reason Sheffield’s canal basin has never properly caught on as a place to spend significant time and money.

I think one issue is the perceived distance of Victoria quays from the city centre. Although not actually that far, unless you shop in the markets area, the canal basin doesn’t really appear on your radar. Plus of course it is on the other side of Park square roundabout, which doesn’t help.

The good news is that with the new masterplan, it looks like planners in the city are recognising the importance of integrating this waterside area with the centre of town. It is proposed that a new pedestrian spine route will connect Victoria quays and Fargate to form part of a “new pedestrian axis” through the city centre.

What’s more, a new destination is to be created, which will include Victoria Square, a park around the ruins of Sheffield castle, contemporary architecture and existing heritage buildings.

All this bodes well and suggests that Victoria quays may yet become a place that is no longer considered too far out of the way for people to visit, and one that contributes further to the regeneration of the city.

Map of proposed Victoria Quays/Castlegate development, Sheffield


Comments : No Comments »
Tags : , , , , , , , ,
Categories : city centre masterplan, council, development, drink, pubs, regeneration, restaurants, sheffield