I read that Ikea has pulled out of plans to build a supermarket on the parkway because of planning objections,therefore unable to create 500 jobs for the people of Sheffield many who would have come from the underdeprived Manor estate.The objections came from the traders in the town centre.The same town centre that Clive Betts wants the council to levy a congestion charge on people entering it.What planet are these people on,let them go and visit the Ikea store in Wakefield and watch all the visitors from Sheffield spending their money there and not in sheffield.

where is shefield?

yeh they are building an ikea in doncaster instead

The objections came from one source really ... Cole Brothers (John Lewis)... who threatened to pull out of the NRQ if IKEA receive a consent.

Originally posted by Tony
The objections came from one source really ... Cole Brothers (John Lewis)... who threatened to pull out of the NRQ if IKEA receive a consent.



NRQ?

When i go to the ikea near Leeds I also plan my other shopping around going up there ie. My money goes to other shops in that area......I think Sheffield city centre would have been boosted by the Ikea but thats gone down the drain now.

Unless they were being very selective about where they recruited from, I would have thought that all areas in SHeffield would have benefited from the jobs.

I would imagine that there would be an impact on city centre traders. And the impact would be a 'knock on' effect, too. To get the best from Ikea you need a car or to hire your own transport. In other words, you need to have some spending power. If Ikea took more folks from the city centre with spending power then we can expect a further 'killing off' of teh city centre, with an increase in the 'cheap and cheerful' shops that we've seen growing up on the Moor and Fargate.

I cannot see how a 'closed environment' on the Parkway would benefit city centre shops in any way.

As for congestion charging - it is dumb that the Council attempts to support the city centre with one hand (no Ikea) whilst whacking it with the other (Congestion charges). But I think we need to get used to the latter - every city in the UK will have them before long.

Ikea is OK but to get out to the Parkway and do an Ikea shop, you'd still be driving. So why not go to the Leeds one instead? There is a load of other shops around the Leeds one - if the Ikea here in Sheffield were to be the centrepiece of a new retail park then I could see more sense in it, but really it's just another commercial enterprise that benefits folks who have private transport. Would make more sense even for Ikea to put it in an existing retail park to get the 'knowc on' effect.

And, to be quite frank...Ikea's customer service is crap.... ;-)

agree it would only really benefit people who drive (and as i have 3 kids under 7 a bus would be a nightmare!).


Actually its probably a good thing its not coming to sheffield....my overdraft wouldnt cope!!!


sue:D :D :D

A lot of the sheffield people who want ikea already use it. Someone on here has said they go to the Leeds/Bradford store. I go to the Nottingham store.

They have a lot more than John Lewis and at a better price. I can walk stright out with it, where when a friend bought a bed from JL's she had to wait 3 hours to collect as the warehouse were taking in a delivery and couldn't bring it out for her, costing more in parking fees as their car park was full so had to park elsewhere. They didn't even offer to pay her extra parking.

IKEA needs to be here to offer healthy compition as it would make the prices JL offer more resonible.

Jubby

yeh they are building an ikea in doncaster instead

I know, I did the surveys from Ikea for that lol!!! They gave me £10 of vouchers too!

our managers got the vouchers even though we did the survey too

Originally posted by caprice
I know, I did the surveys from Ikea for that lol!!! They gave me £10 of vouchers too!

Oh well, you wont be spending them in Sheffield!

Originally posted by Fudbeer
NRQ?

it's the new retail quarter that is going next to Debenhams. Coles is one of the main shops that is going there.

Why cldnt they have located it near Castlegate?

If IKEA wnat to open let them open. It's called free trade and it works. End of story

Not sure what sort of furniture IKEA sells but sounds a little bit like the Habitat stuff.Flimsy settees that skate about the room .
Tables of balsa wood.And not a proper sideboard for love or money.
What's wrong with DFS.They offer a lovely range of three-piece suites in a choice of exciting fabrics and colourways.And you don't have to pay for around five years.
Today's homemakers are really spoilt for choice.

How narrow minded can this city get. Ikea have been forced out by pressure brought onto the council by the whinging threats of a third party development team.

They will give permission for a so called 'retail park' a mile down the road next to the Gala bingo (although how a Matalan, Brantano and a Carphone Warehouse make it a retail park is beyond me) but they won't allow a real international firm like Ikea to transform a run down piece of land like the former YEB site.

So what if it would have an effect on JL and the city centre. Do they really beleive people will start going back to the city centre just because there are a few new buildings. Not while they are trying to discourage drivers with congestion forming one-way systems and road schemes coupled with extortionate parking charges they won't.

The fact is an Ikea would have brought money into this city from miles around. Money for the city, jobs for its inhabitants and customers for other facilities in the city, including the city centre. It could have been the catilyst for the total reformation of the retail enviroment in Sheffield.

But the short sightedness of the council has put paid to that and now the citizens of Sheffield and the surrounding areas will go and spend that money in West Yorkshire or, even worse, Nottinghamshire. The coucil have seen to that by p***ing off Ikea so much that they are no longer interested in coming to Sheffield.

Will this denial of planning permission have us all running to the city centre to spend our money.... of course it won't. What the likes of John Lewis have done now is shot themselves in the back as there will be no new customer base for them to attract, all they will have is the dwindling band of 60 and 70 somethings who are the only ones that you see milling around their stores. The same goes for Atkinsons. Newer generations have no interest in that type of department store as it has totally the wrong image.

Good on yer, Sheffield City Council.

I couldnt agree more Yorkiepud, i was gutted to read the news that they will not be coming, I love this city but as i said in another discussion and got slated for, we need to move with the times otherwise many of us do go out of town to spend our hard earned cash.

someone mentioned DFS, thats fine but to ge to see their full range you have to go all the way to darley dale as I did last weekend.

John Lewis are a joke, and I speak from experience. they are like "are you being served" ! :0

I worked in the city centre for a long time and loved it , but then after Meadowhall it went on an instant decline, unlike many other cities who have had other massive shopping centres built.

I really hope the future of the city centre is going to be to catch up with the other major cities.

Originally posted by yorkiepudd


They will give permission for a so called 'retail park' a mile down the road next to the Gala bingo (although how a Matalan, Brantano and a Carphone Warehouse make it a retail park is beyond me)

I think that is the crappiest retail park around! I thought the one on Queens Road was pretty poor but this tops it!

It's certainly bad news for Sheffield that an Ikea isn't being built. Love them or hate them, they bring in some serious tourists who make use of the area's other facillities when they visit.

The council need to look at which would attract more visitors - Ikea or an out-of-date department store which has done nothing to encourage visitors to come to Sheffield.

I think that Crystal Peaks is running that a close second though.

There has never been a day when all the shops in Peaks itself have all been let, but then they go and build a new "retail park" on the overspill car park... even though that the Drakehouse Retail Park has never been fully let since Scottish Power shut down.

And who has taken units so far....

err, Carphone Warehouse (yep, yet another), Pizza Hut (another fast food outlet) and T.K.Maxx (overpriced end of line clothing) and , yep, more empty units.

So, they can have permission to build more retail units without any evidence to prove they are needed (if they were then all the other units would already have been let) but yet a real crowd puller like Ikea is given the two finger treatment... that sucks big time.

I too can't believe that the council won't let a decent and moderately trendy firm like Ikea open a store here. They come up with all sorts of objections like traffic problems and competition with the city centre, but when someone announces a big new casino everyone throws up their hands in glee and says it will save the entire region etc. Personally I know which one I'd rather have but maybe Sheffield council know their target audience better than I do. Cool and sophisticated vs. tacky and cheap... the answer's obvious. So it looks as though we'll still all be going to Nottingham and Leeds then.

Some people blame Meadowhall for killing our city centre. Meadowhall didn't help, but the people who are really responsible for the state of our city centre are Sheffield City Council.

Traffic problems on the Parkway? Simple solution - build a bigger road.

If Jan Wilson is in the area can she or any of her colleagues give a comment on this topic.

Originally posted by Andy
Traffic problems on the Parkway? Simple solution - build a bigger road.

It should be a 3 lane motorway, similar to Mancuinan Way or M621. I doubt Parkway can be extended tho? too much on the sides to allow for expansion?

Originally posted by Andy
Some people blame Meadowhall for killing our city centre. Meadowhall didn't help, but the people who are really responsible for the state of our city centre are Sheffield City Council.

Definetly. The Trafford Centre hasn't affected Manchester's city centre shops in any way. Sheffield city centre has very little appeal.

A snub for Ikea is just going to put off other shops from coming to Sheffield and they'll just go to Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester instead.

PLEASE make the bridge under the last junction wide enough for dual carriageway! Three lanes would be good but really only needed at commute times.

How one shop can blackmail the council is beyond me - but then how many people will the new Coles employ?

If it's anything like the Manchester one then it will also pull people into the area as well. But no reason why both couldn't be built - nothing wrong with healthy competition.

I really don't understand why John Lewis would object to an Ikea store in Sheffield. Ikea is not in competition with them. Their customer base is completely different. If you're looking for well made reasonalby priced flat pack furniture you don't go to John Lewis.

Originally posted by rickmiles85
It should be a 3 lane motorway, similar to Mancuinan Way or M621. I doubt Parkway can be extended tho? too much on the sides to allow for expansion?
Is it worth 2-3 years of added disruption to the Parkway just so we have a local Ikea?? Doesn't seem worth all the hassle.

I wasnt commenting on it for the ikea, I meant in general.

Originally posted by rickmiles85
I wasnt commenting on it for the ikea, I meant in general.
Sorry..I misunderstood with it being in the Ikea thread.

I bet they are building the new Ikea in Doncaster because it will be close to the Ikea Warehouse and save them on Transportation costs.

There we are - Ikea going to Doncaster instead.

And they will get the planning permission, as Doncaster is a lot more forward thinking.

Thanks a lot, Sheffield City Council - you have surpassed yourselves yet again.

Sometimes Sheffield is so parochial I'm surprised they don't ban the use of fire!

ikea withdrew as they could not find a site that the government would have accepted in planning terms
the gov and prescott are clamping down on such developments and ikea are struggling across the country to get new stores (eg stockport)
nothing to do with john lewis etc

Ikea withdrew as Sheffield City Council Planning Board would not approve the former YEB site on Parkway Avenue following objections from the firm awarded the contract to redevelop the Barkers Pool area and from city centre traders like John Lewis and they were like frightened little rabbits who dare not come out in case the nasty farmer might get them.

I'm suprised John Lewis felt threatened by Ikea, they hardly sell the same quality of furniture do they ?

I think they were actually concerned about consumers being attracted out of the city centre more than the direct competition - but then again if they had anything worth going and looking at.....

Originally posted by yorkiepudd
I think they were actually concerned about consumers being attracted out of the city centre more than the direct competition - but then again if they had anything worth going and looking at.....

They've got far more to worry about now - losing consumers to another part of the county. I'm sure Doncaster will welcome Ikea with open arms (presumably to hold all the money the shoppers will be bringing).

Ikea would have brought jobs, out-of-towners and tourists (and their money).

Yep , thats fer sure.

Not only that, but surely it's the council's responsibility to please it's citizens.

At the minute we have a nightmare drive 30 miles up or down the M1 to the Nottingham or Leeds branches. (well I don't, I go to Warrington or possibly the new Stockport one).

By NOT bringing Ikea the council is failing the people who pay their wages.

cole brothers would never have pulled out of anything... as far as furniture goes it is a different demographic (overlapping slightly) that shops at IKEA.

and regarding the economic issue, people who want to shop at ikea and have cars do, they drive to notts or leeds quite easily, a sheffield ikea store would mean that that money goes directly into the local economy.

also, people always harp on about sheffield being backward or feeling like a town rather than a city, with stores like IKEA, MUJI, HABITAT and other shops that are symbolic of a modern city, perhaps people would view the city a little differently?

Originally posted by Scuba
cole brothers would never have pulled out of anything... as far as furniture goes it is a different demographic (overlapping slightly) that shops at IKEA.

and regarding the economic issue, people who want to shop at ikea and have cars do, they drive to notts or leeds quite easily, a sheffield ikea store would mean that that money goes directly into the local economy.

also, people always harp on about sheffield being backward or feeling like a town rather than a city, with stores like IKEA, MUJI, HABITAT and other shops that are symbolic of a modern city, perhaps people would view the city a little differently?

There was a Habitat on the Moor, that was a VERY long time ago.

that probably closed along with loads of other stores when meadowhall opened. but that is kind of different because meadowhall caters for most things and most people, IKEA is very genre specific.

I dont buy all this things closed cos of meadowhall malarky

Newcastle has the metro centre yet their city centre thrives with a much smaller population than Sheffield

Originally posted by boyface
I dont buy all this things closed cos of meadowhall malarky

Newcastle has the metro centre yet their city centre thrives with a much smaller population than Sheffield
Bang on.

Leeds has the White Rose
Manchester has the Trafford Centre
Newcastle has Metro.

Thay ALL have IKEA's.

They ALL seem to be thriving!

Let's not use Meadowhall as an excuse for Sheffields failings.

Originally posted by Tony
Bang on.

Leeds has the White Rose
Manchester has the Trafford Centre
Newcastle has Metro.

Thay ALL have IKEA's.

They ALL seem to be thriving!

Let's not use Meadowhall as an excuse for Sheffields failings.

We use the Trafford Centre if we need to do some shopping in the evening, as it's open until 10pm.

But we always go to Manchester city centre at the weekends because it is so lively, evey shop is open and parking is free. (Plus you can get a peek at Coronation Street and also look at the Spitfire in the MSI!)

Trafford is definetly for tourists at the weekends, but its a situation which works well for both shopping areas.

[i]But we always go to Manchester city centre at the weekends because it is so lively, evey shop is open and parking is free.

I think the last part of that comment is the most important.

Anyone got any idea when the ikea in doncaster is opening?? Or even the one in stockport??

Originally posted by noreen27
Anyone got any idea when the ikea in doncaster is opening?? Or even the one in stockport??

The Stockport one may not be. See here (http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/125/125859_fury_as_prescott_blocks_ikea_store.html) .

But Ikea are going to take them to court, see here (http://www.stockportexpress.co.uk/news/index/articles/article_id=16961.html)

Good old Sheffield council has missed out but hay never mind Doncasters going to benefit which means i dont have to drive up to leeds.

I went to ikea in leeds yesterday to get some shelving amongst other things and the damn side rails had sold out, compounded by the fact that on the way back I passed a polo near hillsboro with a roof rack and 8 of the buggers that had sold out and that I wanted on it!