Sheffield blog

Another of Sheffield’s forgotten spaces

On Monday, the winners of Forgotten spaces will be announced. We’ll get to see the results of the competition which asked architects, designers and artists to come up with new uses for Sheffield’s forgotten spaces.

It will be interesting to see whether any of the entries looked at what could be made of Fitzalan square, which surely is one of Sheffield’s most prominent, under-used and forgotten public spaces.

The old post office building, Fitzalan square

Walking through a couple of months ago, I was struck by how good the square would have once looked. It gets plenty of sunshine and the trees offer a nice bit of shade, as well as some greenery to contrast with to the buildings.

I don’t know that much about architecture, but look closely and you’ll see just how impressive these buildings are. I don’t think Sheffield has anywhere near as much Victorian architecture compared to many cities of a similar size, but in Fitzalan square you’ll find the magnificent old post office dominating the south side. This grand old grade-II* structure has stood empty since 1999 and sadly been left to fall into disrepair.

Fitzalan square

On the west of the square there is another attractive building, towering five stories high with balconies on the windows and five beautiful arches on the ground level which are currently operating as retail units.

Adjacent to this on corner of the square and High street is the square’s most famous building. Now a motorcycle accessories store, the Marples building used to be a seven storey hotel but was completely reduced to rubble by bombing during in the war. The building you see there now was constructed in the 1950s.

The Marples name lives on in the square by means a small fast food hut. A statue of King Edward VII stands in the middle of the square, which was cleaned up and illuminated in as part of a facelift in 2003.

King Edward VII statue, Fitzalan square

Despite the impressive buildings and the statue centerpiece, Fitzalan square doesn’t currently feel a enticing place to hang out. I took these photos over a lunchtime when there was just a single office worker enjoying his dinner there.

The roads around the edge of the square leave you feeling a bit isolated and hum of running engines in the taxi rank on the west side doesn’t make it particularly relaxing. Some of the businesses on the square – an amusement arcade and betting shops – also don’t really add much charm.

The good news is that that there are signs of recovery. The old post office building has been bought* and will be repaired and restored to a basic level before a further development is announced. Apparently it won’t be a hotel or flats.

Marples food hut, Fitzalan square

This may be the lease of life that the square needs and a catalyst for some positive further development. I think the centre of the square could be remodelled, some of the roads pedestrianised and if they manage to attract the right businesses – some decent shops, perhaps a nice pub, cafe or restaurant trading on the Marples name and with outside tables – it could give people a reason to visit.

I’m not sure to what extent the recession has affected this bit of the Sheffield city centre master plan, but the original idea was to develop the route between Victoria quays and the High street, open up what’s left of Sheffield castle and landscape a park around the remains. If this is ever happens, it will at the very least be a huge benefit to Fitzalan square. Hopefully the planners will include it as a key part of their overall vision.

For now, the next step is the plans for the old post office building, which we should find out about in early 2012.

*ignore the main picture on this article, for some reason the Star has chosen to show a picture of a separate University of Sheffield development

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Does this pave the way for excavated Sheffield castle ruins and park? Or just Leeds-style crap office blocks?

This morning it was announced that the Minister for tourism and heritage has decided not to list Castle market building.

This news means that in theory the major stumbling block to the Castlegate part of the 2008 city centre masterplan has been removed.

The masterplan outlined a vision for the excavation of Sheffield castle ruins, which are under the present market building, and the creation of a park in the vicinity. This would be an important part of of the regeneration of the Castlegate and Victoria quays area.

The debate about whether or not it should be listed has gone on for a few months now. Some people see the old markets as a eyesore in an already run down area and would be glad to see it gone.

Others see the 1960s building as an example of what makes Sheffield different to other northern cities. They argue that it is a unique place where working class people come to shop that has been neglected over the years, which should be kept in the heart of the city.

On the radio tonight a councillor said that archaeologists would be given time to investigate the ruins of the castle to see what can be made of them. But in a recession is it possible that the masterplan proposals would never be realised anyway?

The author of the blog posts linked to above, Owen Hatherley, has said in reaction to the announcement that the remains of the market are dull and that ‘there will be no park, just a wasteland that will eventually be filled, in the extremely unlikely event the economy picks up, with Leeds-style crap office blocks.’

What do you think? Should we demolish the market building now it will not be listed and hope that the masterplan comes to fruition? Or does it have a social value and architectural merit that we need to retain?

Another idea for empty retail spaces in town

Many people are rightly proud of what a creative city Sheffield is. It is certainly home to plenty of creative people: 7.2% of the workforce is employed in the creative and digital industries* and an uncited claim on Wikipedia says that outside of London, Sheffield has the largest population of amateur, working and professional visual artists in the UK.

Could we do more help promote our creative excellence? The bigger manufacturers pay to use the Made in Sheffield mark to help sell and authenticate their products, but this is less useful for smaller artists trying to sell their wares.

As the recession has hit, shops have gone bust and retail units in towns up and down the country have been left empty. Sheffield city centre hasn’t escaped this, with the delay of Sevenstone resulting in many of our retail spaces being caught in a black hole between compulsory purchase orders and postponed building work.

We’ve already seen some other ideas for ways to make use of these spaces in Sheffield and some bars and shops are even reopening in the empty units.

At least three other cities have now come up with another use for them which is helping local artists and creative people. In the last few months, ‘Made in…’ or ‘Created in…’ shops have opened in Newcastle and Birmingham. It looks like Nottingham is also home to a similar type of  shop.

The concept is simple, although it has varied from city to city. Broadly, they are pop-up shops occupying empty retail units that showcase and sell locally-made products. They can also incorporate meeting places, small workshop spaces and exhibition areas. A group of volunteers run the shops, sometimes with a committee or main organiser heading things up.

Could this work in Sheffield? We already have a pool of creative artists, plenty of empty units in town and and regular craft fairs run by the Sheffield craft mafia.

Running the shops is hard work, as the Created in Birmingham people discovered, so it isn’t something to take on lightly. And I think some thought would need to be given as to how such a project would work alongside existing rent-paying outlets like the Famous Sheffield Shop and Sheffield Scene, and also existing art-selling galleries.

On the whole, it sounds like these pop-up shops have been very well received. After a successful three-month trial, the Birmingham shop closed due to their prestigious unit in the Bullring shopping centre being let to paying tenants, but it is expected to return for Christmas.

Has this idea had been considered for Sheffield? If not, is anyone interested in seeing whether there is an appetite to get a Made in Sheffield shop up and running in time for the Christmas shopping season?

*I’ve no idea how an occupation is classed as creative or otherwise

New Made in Newcastle shop front by championmonkeyface, used with permission

A family day out down the canal basin

If, like me, you don’t get down to Victoria quays as much as you should, then the On the waterfront event is a good reason to head there tomorrow:

Come and enjoy a fun family day out by one of Sheffield’s watery wildlife havens! Plenty of activities to keep the whole family entertained, with live music, attractions and craft demonstrations. Find out more about the wildlife that lives along our waterways, or join a guided walk and look out for butterflies, fish and kingfishers.

The live music includes the Crookes and the Everly pregnant brothers, both of which are reason alone to go.

I’ve posted before about Victoria quays and how Sheffield’s canal basin never seemed to properly catch on as a place to spend significant time and money. More events like this can only raise its profile and give people an incentive to go.

On the waterfront Event Sheffield listing

On  the waterfront pdf (1.14MB)

Victoria quays, Sheffield by Paolo Margari (used under Creative commons licence)

Completing the city of Sheffield walkabout photo tour

A couple of years ago I took a set of photos that compared 1970s Sheffield with how it looked in 2008. The original photos were taken from a 1970s council publication, which was produced to promote the city.

I didn’t bother including the Crucible as it was a building site surrounded by fences. However, with the renovation project complete, I decided to go back to take a photo for comparison with the 1970s Crucible.

The two Crucible photos are at the bottom of this post, although it is perhaps better to view a complete slideshow of the updated 1970s/2000s gallery:

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Crucible theatre, 1970

Crucible theatre, 2010

Filling the Sevenstone void

With the Sevenstone retail quarter on hold for at least the next 2-3 years, there are empty buildings and patches of land in town earmarked for development but currently not being used to their potential.

The latest scheme to try and address this is the proposed Red square retail area which is featured in the latest issue of Exposed magazine.

This idea would see vacant land on Trafalgar street (see the map below) turned into a hub of 35 small units and workspaces for artists, makers and creative independent new retailers. The shipping container units (‘ship shops’) would be cheap to rent and let on easy-in/easy-out terms. The focal point is a small, central square with a cafe and gallery.

The people behind the idea are looking for feedback on the proposal and also would like to hear from any potential occupiers. At the time of writing, it doesn’t look like the www.red-square.org website is live, but if you are interested or just want more information then email info@red-square.org.

There are also other schemes trying to find creative and worthwhile uses for the available spaces in the city centre.

The excellent Sheffield Swap shop project aims to take on a vacant shop in Sheffield and turn it into a community swap shop managed by volunteers. People will be able to turn up to exchange skills, services and use it for other community-related activities. It looks like Sunwin house is a venue that Swap shop is considering. If you want to get involved, contact Helen Milner.

University architecture students and the council have got together to work on the Empty quarter action project. They will be publishing a report full of creative ideas for the vacant shops, buildings and streets in the city and need your input for the public consultation that will feed into this. If you are interested in contributing to this then read more and email the project.

In addition, the council has also given the empty shop fronts behind Pinstone street a cosmetic makeover and there is ongoing discussion regarding what to do with the empty fire station on Wellington street.

Walking around some parts of town is a bit depressing at the moment so it is encouraging that people are trying to do something about it. It is good to have a mix of grassroots community schemes to get involved with like Swap shop and also ideas such as Red square that could also give a commercial boost and spawn new, independent businesses in the city centre.

What do people think to these schemes? Are there any more going on that I have missed?

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The location earmarked for Red square

‘Sheffield just doesn’t seem to know how good it actually is’

People reading this blog who aren’t on Twitter may have missed the link posted at the end of last week to a great article on the Building Design website.

The author, Owen Hatherly, took a walk around the city for the magazine’s Urban trawl feature and the resulting article and follow-up blog post are well worth a read.

Eyebrows have been raised in the past in response to some of Sheffield’s planning decisions and buildings, however Owen recognises that our examples of post-war, modernist architecture are actually mostly better than what London has to offer.

Of course not everyone loves this style of building design, but reading his feature does make you look again at some of the city’s well-known landmark structures with a new appreciation.

Castle market is described as ‘a shopping centre with a weirdness and individuality that puts all the Arndales to shame’; the Manpower services building at Moorfoot and Jefferson Sheard’s electricity substation are ‘thrillingly paranoid Cold War megastructures’; and Park hill is labelled as ‘one of the great buildings of the century, anywhere – a truly astonishing architectural achievement’.

He also picks up on one of the reasons why local people have such affection for Sheffield: whichever way you look, the charming haphazard sprawl of the city is nearly always neatly framed by the beautiful surrounding countryside, which is only minutes away.

And his advice for ensuring that Sheffield remains such a unique place? We need to concentrate less on trying to be like everywhere else and spend more time celebrating the individuality of the city and its distinctive collection of buildings. With Sevenstone in the pipeline and Urban splash attempting a delicate balancing act with Park hill, this will no doubt prove quite a challenge.

Park hill: 'one of the great buildings of the century, anywhere - a truly astonishing architectural achievement'. Photo by Paolo Màrgari - paolomargari.it, used under the Creative Commons licence

Town battles on as it awaits the arrival of Sevenstone

It is a difficult time for the city centre at the moment. While the promise of the new retail quarter has raised hopes that town will once again become a significant northern shopping destination, walking past the empty shops on the Moor and Pinstone Street is presently quite depressing.

Although it was reported last week that footfall in town has increased by 17,000 people a month, for me the city centre still needs all the help it can get to encourage shoppers.

Seemingly, the council has recognised this and is making some effort to give town its best chance of success before the arrival of Sevenstone, with hoardings displaying images of Sheffield being erected around derelict buildings marked for demolition.

And according to this council email, a new website promoting shopping in the city is in the pipeline:

A new website will be launched in April that shows just what’s on offer for shopping in the city centre. It will show potential shoppers what shops are here, where they are, and what they sell. Retailers will be able to update special offers and events, and talk to other retailers through the site. The aim of the site is to promote Sheffield as a competitive retail destination. It’s a joint initiative between the council, Creative Sheffield and the Chamber of Commerce.

So if these initiatives work, what will people think when they arrive in the town? Some visitors from London commented to me that as an urban environment, parts of the city centre look great (I did take them on a selective route of the city). But some areas look very run-down and we know that for shopping, it still has a long way to go.

With current economic conditions causing more retailers to fold and further shop units to stand empty, I can’t help but feel that it will get worse before it gets better. However, I am also sure that in due course we will once again have a shopping destination of which to be proud.

Mosaic tiling of the planters is underway

After a few months, opinion of the new Devonshire green seems to be a bit mixed.

Some people really like it, with the stepped grassy area, the deckchair terrace and the Gaudi-inspired concrete planters creating a space that compliments the Forum well and that has already hosted successful events such as the dancing mechanical digger in the summer.

On the other hand, questions have been raised over the concrete planters. Described as ‘undulating sculptural walls‘, do they actually have a plastic feel? Should have there been concrete steps built into the grass bank? And walking past yesterday, the large puddle in the middle of the grass made me wonder whether there was sufficient drainage.

Whichever way you look at it, the concrete planters will be further improved by the installation of mosaic tiling which has now begun. An unsightly carved channel exists around the edges of each which until now has been empty, but yesterday I noticed that one near the north perimeter has started to be filled with green and yellow tiles.

When complete, this should further compliment the development and further tie it in with the Forum.

In the meantime, what do you think to the new Devonshire green?

Mosaic on Devonshire Green

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.