New development set to regenerate Sheffield city centre

Progress is being made on a £470m development scheme to transform the centre of Sheffield.

A deal has been made between Sheffield City Council and John Lewis and Partners, giving the Council full ownership of the Barker’s Pool building and site at no cost impact to the city, after the company decided to permanently close the store.

The site is expected to be central to the Council’s Heart of the City development scheme, with public consultation on future uses set for the New Year.

The wider scheme is set to be completed in 2023, with 40% of the development already complete and interest being gained from potential occupiers.

Cllr Mazher Iqbal, Executive Member for City Futures, Development, Culture and Regeneration at Sheffield City Council, said: ‘It’s great news that an agreement has now been reached with John Lewis with no cost impact to the city. We now have full ownership of the Barker’s Pool building and site, and importantly, its future is now in the hands of Sheffield.

‘It is an anchor site within the Heart of the City masterplan, with so much potential and the Council is one hundred percent committed to creating something special that the city can be proud of. Earlier this year, we instructed sector experts Fourth Street, Queensberry and Arup, to start to examine the condition of the building, as well analyse the costs, market interest and sustainability of all of the available options for the building. In the new year we’ll be launching a consultation to find out what the people of Sheffield think about the future of this important site in the city centre and what they’d like to see.

‘There have been some really exciting developments on Heart of the City this year, we’re really seeing it take shape now, the vision coming together, and there’s more to come in 2022 – it’s a great time to be living, working in and visiting Sheffield.’

In related news, the transformation of Moseley Road Baths and Balsall Heath library in Birmingham has received a major boost with the allocation of £15.5m of Levelling-Up funding.

Photo supplied by Sheffield City Council