Not if they are presented by semi literate numpties who have no idea of the history of Sheffield and no real connection to it. This guy is just after his media studies degreee.
Since this video, Cambridge Street has had a surprisingly rebirth. The Cambridge Collective and the newly opened Leah's yard both show extremely promising signs of life. The collective looks like a food hall from a typically more upmarket city, and has seemingly been a big hit so far.
Leah's yard is brilliant but why on earth does it have to close at 5pm Monday to Sunday? I fear it won't last long with those sorts of opening times, hopefully I'm wrong. This seems to be a problem with a lot of the city centre too. By the time people finish work a lot of things apart from the pubs are closed.
Meadowhall opening in late 80s killed off a lot of trade from Sheffield and Rotherham town centre, free parking and more choice of shops who can argue with that. Shame they got rid for the hole in the road roundabout, that was icon, bad decision.
Meadowhall didn`t have to kill off the city centre. Other major cities co exist with a thriving centre and shopping malls on the outer. Yes shame the hole in the road went, nowhere to have a piss!!!! More like a no go zone than an icon.
I miss the hole in the road, even it was a tad dodgy , and I never knew what happened to the fish! I don't think we can blame Meadowhall, Manchester and Leeds both have large shopping centres on the outskirts, and yet their city centres are very bustling with lots of shopping choices. I was told that the Trafford Centre in Manchester was modelled on Meadowhall. No, I blame the council planning. They are doing far too little too late, but glad to see they appear to be trying to make Sheffield look better.
Getting rid of the Hole in the Road was a big mistake! It was iconic and unusual...sometimes I wonder if there's any kind of artistic and futuristic vision with our town planners. I really despair! Cx
The problem with Sheffield and all other town and city centres in the UK is a lack of people living and working there, we need a higher density of people in our town centres, more people living in our towns will bring life and money back to them , just visit any town or city centre in Spain or Portugal and see how they make city centres work, its not rocket science.
For that you need a great public transport system for the city (the Supertram is a fantastic start) and infrastructure-given how broke the UK is at the moment I wouldn't hold my breath…!
Exactly! I is like that in the big city in France where I live. I live right in the centre...and because there are many other people living near by there's a friendly café which serves lunches just one minute from mine, there are shops and trees, a tram line ( free at weekends) there's a dentist and doctor just opposite where I live etc etc There are many mature trees which people love...
Sheffield has built a lot of flats in the town centre in recent years, there’s also a lot of student accommodation in the centre of the city, and also many units for small businesses. I’m assuming from your comment that you haven’t actually been there?!
What a sad excuse for a city centre. I've seen some disaster areas in the UK but Sheffield gets the gold medal. The so-called 'modern' buildings are exactly what city centres do not need. If businesses want offices then let them go to a business park, just like industries have an industrial park. From what I've seen, nothing can save Sheffield. Very sad. I certainly won't be visiting.
@@rickbaines8262 Yes, massive loss, I'm sure. Regardless, what a sad state for a city to fall into, even if it is only a portion of it. Politicians and architects are a dangerous mix - both desperate to impress. As King Charles said about 30 years ago, architects and those funding them have done more damage to London than the Luftwaffe. How true. And obviously to Sheffield too.
@@MrCherryJuice Sheffield has some very unique features compared to other major cities. It was never a major commercial city like Manchester or Leeds, it relied on its manufacturing and skilled labour so it never developed many of those really grand Victorian buildings(only the villas to the West where the wealthy steelmakers lived). The centre is also really linear meaning you have to walk for ages which is why it needed centralising with the Heart of the city project.
The problem with Sheffield city centre is that it is being redeveloped to attract young hipster types who don’t drive. Us old, hip-replacement types have nothing to bring us in, and everything to keep us out: anti-car policies, rough sleepers, an increasing knife crime problem (even if only a perception). If you want to shop for something special, go to Leeds. Hell, if you just want to wander around shops, go to Chesterfield. Why Sheffield, there’s nothing there now except bars, restaurants and fast food? If ex-students stay, develop businesses with low environmental impact etc., etc. then new shoots may appear but, sadly, it seems to rely on the annual influx of new students to support its hospitality-based nighttime economy.
@bilbo8338 Cheap, easy car access that doesn't involve navigating new one-way systems and bus lanes that are designed to trap unwary visitors (Manchester, yes I'm talking about you as well). City centres that have more than student-focused shops, bars, nightclubs and endless ridiculously expensive coffee houses. Centres where there aren't rough sleepers at the entrances to every Tesco Local, and you don't get accosted by beggars and Big Issue sellers in the bus queue. Clean and safe public toilets. A city where kids don't carry knives. A city where certain elements of society aren't having en masse fights, and drug gangs aren't shooting at each other. Basically, most city centres but 50 years ago 😡
You have some fair points, therr are no particularly good alternatives to car transport into the centre and it feels rough. But walk around the centre and so much space is still dedicated to motorists, massive multi story car parks everywhere, multi lane roads cutting through everywhere, it's hardly anti car, it's just less car centric than the whole world was in the car crazy 60s and unfortunately motorists got a bit too used to it
@TOB41992 The road layout, emission zone (local car tax), and bus lane traps are the main issues. I think you're over-stating the multi-lane roads, it has a ring road.
Every city has rough sleeping problems - Sheffield actually is far more on top of it than a lot of the other cities I've visited and lived in in comparison. It's a social issue and one that can only be solved with funding increased and housing - something that would likely be complained on with it coming under 'social housing'. Outside of that far better public transport needs to be built to serve the entire city, alongside better cycling facilities (which are supposedly on the way). I understand not feeling warmth toward 'anti car policies' but more public transport and cycle routes in theory would mean more space on the road for motorists and less traffic. As for crime Leeds has higher crime as do many other UK cities. In that regard Sheffield does quite well. I feel extremely safe round the city compared to say Manchester. They do seem to be getting on with work around the city so hopefully within time it'll all come together.
Can you do a Documentary on Yorkshire Forward Also i want to say Sheffield is a city that is Yesterday's Future form parkhill flats too the library one must adimire our skill in our peoples the peace Gardens was once bigger yes but i feel it in modern states is has hope the old egg boxs great yes the function should still be done
Sheffield has been royally messed up by many bad ideas. I'm concerned the regeneration is far too reliant on students and night life rather than proper mixed businesses
This is exactly my gripe with it, I don't mind the bars and restaurants, but a bit of balance would be lovely. There needs to be business rate and cheaper rent incentives for more traditional businesses to thrive. Also scrap ULEZ and bizarre parking restrictions on certain roads.
Sheffielder speaking - Barkers Pool really IS Bar-kers, NOT Bakers or Bay-kers Pool. And the two big pub losses from the 1990s are (1) The Underground and (2) The Wapentake, an underground pub where (amongst others) I glimpsed Def Leppard and Lemmy milling around with the locals in town. Two really hot underground venues for Rockers in the 1980s.
Sheffield does public spaces really well - Peace Gardens, Station Square, Winter Gardens, Tudor Square etc. A lot of cities don't have things like this and it really makes the place a pleasant place to be.
Other than your positive comments about the landscaping which you should really come back and see in the spring and summer around West Bar out to Park Square roundabout, I think most of the developments are inappropriate in size, scale and blandness for the kind of city that Sheffield is. Yes, I’m all for more housing and commercial development in and around the city centre, but not enough thought, time and effort has gone into making sure the new buildings fit in with their surroundings and are of sufficient quality to last for more than a few decades. We must get to a point where we stop demolishing buildings every few years - it’s incredibly wasteful for the environment. There is no reason why we shouldn’t build to last centuries rather than decades!
Sheffield City centre suffers from alot of problems. I worked in the train and bus stations for a while, and people asked for directions. You either tell them to walk a mile or get a taxi. You can point them towards the tram, but you're waiting for an irregular and expensive service to go a few stops. You could drive into Sheffield, but parking is expensive, the park and ride system is pathetic (I'm comparing it to York, Askham Bar is free, always has spaces, £4return and a regular service). Once you're in the centre, you're welcomed with constant building works and people canvassing. The shops aren't special, nothing you couldn't get elsewhere in towns/cities. Most pubs in the centre are not welcoming, but the student ones on the outskirts are fine. Sheffield is best described as a university city, student housing everywhere and the usual priority to build them rather than any other project. Without them, the city would be far worse
All Britain’s cities were trashed to varying degrees back in the post war era up to the present time. It’s a mammoth task to revive these city centres as so much damage was done by architects/planners delivering their “brave new world” which of course morphed into a dystopian nightmare.
I'd say further damage was done with the building (and continued building) of out-of-town shopping malls, retail parks etc. The car industry is catered for at the expense of people.
You are so right. My city of origin, Plymouth, was subjected to exactly what you say and has never recovered..even less now when the 'retail offer'!! has been superseded by online. The asphalt and concrete motor city the planners built was horrible and is now dilapidated
I'm very puzzled by the tarmac infill to underground services - the work gets specified by the services utility in question, which should require the interim storage and relaying of paviours. Final completion should not be certified before the status quo ante is restored. No certificate, no final payment to the contractor. This restoration should in turn be a provision of planning permission granted by the council.
English Heritage and now Historic England know how to grade list a lot of crap! It's a shame they didn't list places like The Yorkshireman public house that was much more architecturally better than the shitehole that is Park Hill!
I moved to Chesterfield in March 2024 and have visited Sheffield on at half a dozen times visiting many of the sites you have mentioned. However, my overall impression so far, is that Sheffield doesn't have a heart, it has lots of streets that seem to lead nowhere, the result of muddled uncoordinated planning Hopefully, Sheffield will one day recover the the prestige it once had if someone with real passion and vision emerges to turn it into the 21st century city it could be.
@@tumslucks9781 In the 6 months I've lived in Chesterfield, I've only scratched the surface. However, even then, I wouldn't call Sheffield a ghost town. In any case, 1988 was a loooooong time ago, much has changed.
The amount of regeneration that has taken place in the north of England in the last decade is the same as what happens in London each year. It's disgusting how much more money and development London gets compared with the rest of the country. We might aswell still be living under Feudalism.
I found this very interesting. I was involved in regeneration in Sheffield back in the 2000s and led the other shortlisted bid in the competition for Park Hill that was won by Urban Splash. Looking back now it is very frustrating to see how slow the pace of urban regeneration has been over the last 30 years.
I’ve lived in Sheff for the past year and a half and must say, its urban development is 100% on the right path They’re laying down loads of dedicated cycle lanes isolated from cars, planting trees all around and although it’s still very much a WiP, it’s deffo getting there There are still loads of empty buildings/spaces that need sorting out and the car centric neighbourhoods on the edge of town are a massive danger to walk/cycle through but all in all, it’s a real nice city to live in
Really interesting, especially comparing regeneration of Newcastle with other cities. Long overdue a trip to Sheffield. Haven't been since the late 70s when my sister was at teacher training college.
As a Sheffielder all my life. I would like to add that what the Labour ran Sheffield City Council are doing to the city is destroying it. They're renovating the city centre in ways that prices out all the small, independent business's in favour of big business & it's killing the city. They're also obsessing about students who couldn't give two monkeys about the city, once they've completed their uni courses, they go back home. Take Park Hill Flats, again I was once a resident. I requested a flat once it was completed & I was lucky enough to be offered one, only to find out the rent was almost double...
The council have well and truly ruined it. Sure they are actually trying to force people away from the city centre. All modes have transport have been banned, even buses have to park on the outskirts. You can build all the nice buildings in the world but no point if no one can get to them and there all empty.
Leeds centre is better, there's no debate, but you have to remember, a lot of Sheffield was flattened in WW2, even in the 50's and 60's the rubble was still there, I'm guessing there wasn't a huge amount of money floating around for regeneration so must had to be done on tight budgets and brutalist architecture was thought to be the future......well, some still like it but yuk.
I had my first visit to Sheffield a few weeks ago to look at its post-war architecture. It is great to see your video and I loved seeing all the redevelopment. The city is full of promise.
Sheffield needs its own version of Canary Wharf (like manchester is doing) accompanied by a proper initiative to attract Tier 1 businesses and well paid professionals to the city. This is what will regenerate it. It’s a lovely place to live but I wouldn’t make any money there, so I won’t move from London. Ultimately, land use developments shouldn’t be reliant on govt grants to fund themselves. If Sheffield builds things people want and need, these investments will pay for themselves - unlike a big new shopping centre that nobody wants, or student accom which is both high-risk and leads to highly cyclical demand
What i would do with John Lewis building Idk if you heard of Afflecks in Manchester but try and make the John Lewis building the Affects of Sheffield if you go down Divison Street you see more alt shops then add the the car pack as a market space that runs form bottom to top maybe make tge Salvation army building into a pub Thing im suprize you didnt do is explore Sheffield Victoria train staion Also do think south yorkshire shoukd have a metro like you luckily Goredies have and tbh you should have a tram aswell i remember seeing a proposal for one in a charity shop in grager town
That's a great idea for the Coles building. I love Afflecks. Only thing close is The Forum on Devonshire Street which is tiny in comparison. I believe a similar idea was touted for the former Debenhams building with some European company interested but it seems to have gone quiet there. Its definitely time for them to extend the tram network further afield like in Manchester linking up the local towns. Now its back in Mayoral control something might happen.
A very good video, well-presented and animated, unlike the Sheffield of the past as I remember it. I was born & bread in the city in the 1950s and can only say, after watching this, that it has been going downhill ever since. A city is made up of its people. But despite shiny new buildings such as the ones you presented here, the city centre looks dead, like a set from '28 Days Later' after a virus decimates the population. Despite the little parks and other 'green spaces' I'd have to say that there's nothing in Sheffield now that would ever attract me back, unfortunately.
In the 1980s Sheffield had more department stores than anywhere in Britain apart from London. People from from as far as Leeds and Manchester would take extended shopping trips to Sheffield. Meadowhall obliterated Sheffield city centre. That was the first major mistake. The second was hosting the World Student Games in 1991. An event that garnered no commercial interest. The final mistake was the tram system. Sheffield had a perfectly good bus service. A city as hilly as Sheffield didn't need a tram system. It took five years to build and caused so much disruption many businesses closed and never reopened. I left Sheffield in 1988. Returning for the last time in 1995 was a haunting experience but I'm glad I left.
@@tumslucks9781 You're certainly correct about Meadowhall... although I've not been there in years, that's where all the shops are nowadays. The tram system is a disappointment, that's for sure. I was living at Waterthorpe at the time that it was opened, but with the prices of bus fares going up in the mid-1980s (thanks to Thatcher), many people just gave up on them (my own bus-fare from Waterthorpe went up eight times, from 15p to £1.15 overnight). The tram system, thirty years' later, is still very limited in routes offered. And, although I was involved in the World Student Games of 1991 and enjoyed them very much, the city lost a great deal of money as a result of hosting them. They were so poverty-stricken, in fact, that the gas which kept the 'Olympic flame' burning, was even extinguished overnight, to save money!
Are you joking? Tram is great. Shame the network is too small. But thats due to people like you moaning about tram killing city. Buses are horrible on the other side. Tram would make the same journey in 15 minutes that bus does in 50. And they also run on time most of days. Unlike buses
Feels more like Afghanistan in the city centre. Deal with that first! And stop closing roads in the centre, so no one can drive in. Its like they don't want people in the centre.
Excellent work. Was a student there in the 80s, i know the Student Games are still being paid for (!). The tram works (like Manchester) cause huge traffic issues impacting businesses. You need to come to Birmingham, not sure they know what town planning is!
They should have never got rid of the hole in the road. It was a unique part of the Sheffield city center the landscape and an attraction. They should have build trams over it on bridges and made a dynamic feature of the area on three levels. Underground , street level and bridges all criss crossing in the center of Sheffield. It would have looked so amazing.
Sheffield council is anti car although I understand there is plenty of parking for the councillors. Why go into city when Meadowhall ,Chrystal Peaks and Saint james retail park have free parking .
I live in Sheffield, and I think most of the new buildings look really good. We need more large regeneration projects so we don't fall even further behind cities such as Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool. At the moment, parts of the city centre are a complete mess,but this is because they are re building the walkways and buildings around this area. People dont seem to appreciate that things have to go through this rough period to eventually regenerate the surrounding area. It doesn't happen overnight.
Barker's Pool, not Baker's, also ground to a halt not grinded, and Fargate is a thoroughfare not a throughfare. Come on, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing properly! Fair comments on most of the buildings, though, some are a little bland.
Sheff council have a good record of replacing the street paving once the utility companies have laid their tarmac. The area between Tudor Square and the Winter Gardens was dug up a few years ago and you can't really tell.
Im a sheffield resident that spends lot of time in Newcastle and studied there, Sheffield centre is shocking compared to Newcastle. While this development is good, its s bit like polishing a turd. Sheff centre is dead.
The main reason Sheffield City Centre struggles to succeed is the lack of affordable parking. Having lived in Sheffield my entire life, I’ve seen numerous "revitalization" projects come and go. None of these efforts will truly succeed until parking is treated as a necessity rather than a luxury. Currently, parking near the City Centre costs visitors £15 or more for just a three-hour stay, which is unreasonable when they could easily go to Meadowhall and park for free. Another factor is Sheffield's increasingly diverse population. The City Centre is now predominantly Asian due to immigration, asylum seekers, and foreign exchange students drawn to the University of Sheffield’s prestige. While this might be a sensitive topic, I believe Sheffield should embrace this diversity rather than clinging to its traditional identity as an "English" city. By focusing on the needs and interests of these communities, the city could attract the income needed to thrive, even if it means redefining what it means to be "Sheffield".
I understand the idea behind the parking, but a city center really isn't a place for cars, it's a place for people. Car parks take up valuable land which could be used for shops, residential and offices and uses it for cars. If you want to get people into a city center, the best way to do that is public transport and cycle lanes (I've noticed Shef is building a bunch of cycle lanes which is cool) Prioritizing cars and parking is one of the (many) reasons city centers ended up dead in the first place, so I think building affordable parking would just be taking a step backwards...
If it was accessable it would be a bonus. Retail don't want to go to a no go area. They should have looked after and nurtured what they had got instead of wasting money on opposition around the city. It's typical of decisions made by people who have no business accumen.
With the Cambridge street collective and leah's yard really forming the heart of the redevelopment I'm surprised you didn't mention them. They've not opened yet but will likely drive heavy footfall back to cambridge street and help bridge the gap between Division street and the Moor. On the John Lewis/cole brothers store I largely agree and hope that at the least the carpark will be demolished as it does nothing for the surrounding streetscape
I do agree regarding Cambridge street and Leah’s yard. however as they weren’t open yet it was difficult to discuss too much about them, as the only details are mainly marketing information
I would not shed a single tear if the modernist John Lewis was raised. I do not understand the listing of such buildings just because they are an example of a particular style. The question is does it have any merit, does it add to the area and the answer has to be no if you look opposite. It was a crime it was built in the first place and listing it just compounds that crime. The body that does listing should be more than a closed club of of architects with their heads in books. Don't save ugly to prove that ugly existed.
Until they reduce 4 lanes of traffic down to a single lane in each direction around the 'heart of the city' it'll be uninviting to most. Like most cities and towns in the UK there is far too much emphasis on prioritising motorists, knocking down entire communities and buildings to construct yet more roads. As opposed to looking after people walking, cycling and wheeling inside these communities.
The city along with London and Coventry was heavily bombed during WW2 to take out the steel works. Consequently much of our Victorian and Georgian architecture was destroyed. Central Sheff has slowly transitioned into a vibrant and pleasant place to live. The rental and purchase prices are now sky rocketing tho. Personally the tram works fine for me but we usually park in Atkinsons. Looking forward to the project finishing.
@@elishuakurtz3551 the idea is that you should have everything you need within 15 minutes walk. I say walk because they’ll want every walking or cycling - no cars so you wouldn’t be able to leave that area at all. A large 15-minute prison.
@@helen677 Why would having everything you need within a 15-minutes walk (Or bike) mean you cant drive? And even if in this mystical dystopian society cars were completely banned...public transport exists
@@kinny0916 they would probably get rid of public transport too. Who knows what these terrible entities would do. 🤷🏻♂️. It’s all about complete control over us, which includes movement.
@@helen677 The whole 15-minute city movement is about reducing car dependency and increasing the amount and quality of public transport, at least, that's the vague idea behind it. I still don't understand where people get the idea that their meant to be 15-minute prisons from. Where did you get this idea? Where did you hear it and what was the source?
We need to undo all the terrible mistakes commited in the 60s by the god aweful brutalist movement. Replace those monsters with (a) majestic steel and glass skyscrapers to build a unique skyline; (b) back-to-basic buildings, à la Poundbury. I'm happy that many cities are making stride towards this.
I often wonder why SCC wants to attract so much public attraction to the city centre when itself insists 500 lives are lost each year due to vehicle emissions. Ponds Park invites you all to bring you children to play. 500 people a year will die if they come to this park . (their data not mine).Co2 emisions for all of these project are beyond this ration
Sheffield a northern city? The Geordies are laughing, anywhere sooth of Durham is the sooth 😂. Still l do like Sheffield been many a time and made quality steel . Great video as always young man 👍
@wallycustard1281Was just referring to England. As Scotland is more North than England stand to reason but are the folk of Inverness and Aberdeen laughing at Glasgow being in the North? 😁.
Its got a pleasant city centre, I would recommend a visit to Kelham island just outside of the city centre. A former industrial area with a similar vibe and regeneration to the Ouseburn in Newcastle
The council should be welcoming people into the city center, not driving them away with their obsessive anti car policy. Hopefully, the green, libs, and labour will be voted out.
Well proven that reducing car centric infrastructure does the world of good for bringing people into places. Cars and the infrastructure they require take up a ridiculously large amount of space relative to the amount of people they transport. Now if you want to argue that they aren't doing a particularly good job giving people an alternative to cars then I would agree...
@TOB41992 I'm pretty sure it's never been a problem in years gone by. Cars are also much cleaner too, not to mention EVs. Does alternative transport include dropping off at your doorstep with your heavy shopping? Another reason why the car is king.
@petef7323 fewer cars on the road in years gone by. Not arguing in favour of abolishing them that would be silly, some people need them and some locations work better with them but there are alternatives, especially in cities. Shopping can be delivered, plus not everyone has the same need to get large quantities of shopping in one go, having shops on route home from work where you can pop in and grab a few bits without taking too much time out of your day is extremely convenient it's what I do when I'm working at one of the sites I work at which is within walking distance. Probably waste less time overall shopping even if I need a couple of trips a week.
@TOB41992 what you're describing is your ideal way of life. This doesn't suit everybody. Also, car volume was higher, Meadowhall hugely reduced this. Caz and changing the road networks is all part of the huge squeeze on the car. Proposed plans to impose a congestion charge on EVs also proves it's all a money grab con
@petef7323 no, I am describing the concept that it is nice to have options, as opposed to being forced into a car because it is the only way to feasibly get where you need to get. Literally everyone would benefit from having options, including motorists who would benefit from quieter roads and quicker journey times if half the population were in trains or buses or trams or walking. I don't agree with congestion charges either, they are a pointless measure but come on, the car needs squeezing a bit, as soon as you see how much space and money we dedicate to them, you can't unsee it.
Apart from the disgusting utility companies making everything uglier on purpose and whatever the council have decided to do to fargate for the past few years, I think the heart of the city 1 project has aged very well
