Member Article

£3.6 million regeneration of Sheffield business district set to be given go-ahead

£3.6 million plans to regenerate Sheffield’s riverside business district and principle hotel area are set to be given the go-ahead by the City Council’s Leader within the next few days.

It proposes the transformation of the corridor linking Riverside Business District and Castlegate to the rest of the city centre with a strong emphasis on flood prevention.

The Council has been working in partnership with a team from the University of Sheffield’s Landscape School, which designed the spectacular meadows at London’s Olympic Park.

Professor Nigel Dunnett of the Department of Landscape, University of Sheffield said: “The Grey to Green project in Sheffield’s Riverside District is one of the most ambitious and visionary urban transformation projects in the country, further boosting Sheffield’s credentials as a green city.

“We are proud to be a core partner in this scheme, and to bring our support and technical expertise to help make this a truly ground-breaking example to other cities in the UK, whilst also providing exciting opportunities for our students to become involved with real-life innovative and cutting-edge planning and design projects.”

The ‘Grey to Green’ scheme has grown out of proposals in the City Centre Masterplan update of 2013 and is a key step towards the vision of where the city wants to be over the next 10-15 years.

Councillor Leigh Bramall, the Council’s Cabinet member for Business, Skills and Development said: “It is intended to transform the riverside area of the city into a green environment suitable for expanding business and hotel development.

“It’s an area that will not only link the city centre with Victoria Quays and The Wicker, but also provide an attractive green space to complement the local businesses and make it an attractive location for further investment.

“The potential tourism benefits of opening up the former castle site are really exciting and something I know many local people would like to happen. It’s an important part of our plans to make greater use of the city’s rivers for their leisure and environmental assets.”

The project will transform 1.3 kilometres of redundant roads into an attractive new linear public space incorporating perennial meadows, sustainable drainage, rain gardens, walking and cycling routes that will improve the setting for a number of development sites in the area.

The scheme has already received strong support from businesses and the public according the council.

It also forms part of the package of measures in the city centre’s Sheffield City Region Investment Fund (SCRIF) submission as well as a current European Regional Development Fund submission.

Links between the city centre to the Riverside Business District and on to Kelham Island, The Wicker/Nursery Street and Castlegate/Victoria Quays will be improved and this is should increase investment and pedestrian movement in the area.

The enhancement of this part of the city will support Sheffield’s bid for the location of the High Speed 2 station close to the city centre at Victoria Station, which is close to the proposed works.

The project will begin in 2015/16 to meet the timescales and funding of the Sheffield City Region Strategic Economic Plan.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .