Hello all
I read somewhere that ikea were intrested in redeveloping the castlegate area with an IKEA superstore if they cannot open one in there intended site off the Parkway. Could this be the councils reasons for refusing permission on the Parkway site?
What do you all think of it as an idea to regenerate this area?
I think it would be excellent and much needed in this particular area and it would certainly improve the local economy and attract people to the city centre.

A new IKEA would be great, BUT I heard an IKEA rep on radio 4 the other week saying something about the company had been stopped from building any more new stores in England. Can't remember why but could only build in Scotland and Wales, hence new store in Cardiff recently....

they wanted to build where the YEB place was. they probably didnt allow it as the Parkway cant take the extra traffic.

The Council won't give them a permission anywhere becasue they believe that it would affect the chances of success of the New Retail Quarter. That doesn't stop Ikea from taking an existing store, but their business model is to be on a main arterial route on a site with full car parking fo the their store. That doesn't really include anywhere around the markets. Ikea don't care if they are in Sheffield, or Rotherham, as long as they are on Parkway.

Just read this on the IKEA website


"New store sites are being sought in a number of different areas and are in various stages of planning. Areas being considered currently include:

Stockport
Edmonton
Sheffield
Southampton
Coventry
Northampton"

the url is: http://www.ikea.co.uk/ms/en_GB/customer_service/faq/faq.html

I have read with interest the contining saga regading a IKEA store in Sheffield (well near Sheffield on the Parkway).

It seems that becuase it would draw custom from the city centre, this is why it keeps getting turned down. Firstly there are two big stores already on the Parkway (these got permisson after IKEA started and after lots of protest) these are Big W, and Morrisons. Two stores that definity would draw custom fom city centre mostly Big W.

Now I can can only think of one big store that IKEA would affect and thats John Lewis (Cole Brothers) and then some smaller furniture and fabric stores.

Now in my humble opinion if I wanted to shop there I would do do already, but I like IKEA so decide to drive to Nottingham.

Now why don't they put a Park and Ride scheme in, or force IKEA to run a bus service to the city centre, becuase I only see people with cars being able to use the store without this anyway.

What do people on this forum feel about an IKEA being built. and I mean in principle of the store not being against it becuase you feel the products are crap, if you think that you'd shop in town anyway.

Look forward to hearing your opinions

Jubby

Building an Ikea in Sheffield wouldn't take any business from the city centre - people who go to Ikea do so anyway. Your not going to say ah well, I wanted to go to Ikea but it's too far away so i'll go to Cole Brothers instead.

It would create loads of jobs too, which is a good thing.

The only problem I can see is the problems of added congestion on an already bottlenecked bit of the M1. Could it be that big a problem though?

Maybe the park & ride thing is a good idea. Perhaps we could use cablecars...

Originally posted by jackthedog
Building an Ikea in Sheffield wouldn't take any business from the city centre - people who go to Ikea do so anyway. Your not going to say ah well, I wanted to go to Ikea but it's too far away so i'll go to Cole Brothers instead.

It would create loads of jobs too, which is a good thing.

The only problem I can see is the problems of added congestion on an already bottlenecked bit of the M1. Could it be that big a problem though?

Maybe the park & ride thing is a good idea. Perhaps we could use cablecars...

But you need to use the M1 to get to IKEA Nottingham and Leeds, so it would ease some of it, from rotherham and sheffield, but yes increase it on the Parkway, if they made the Parkway 3 lanes it may ease the jams??

If they altered the Parkway though, people would moan and bitch about the roadworks.

The Leeds and Nottingham Ikeas are not positioned at already tight sections of the M1.

The section of motorway that runs between Rotherham and Sheffield is already a terrible bottleneck that needs improvement. Having more traffic queueing to get of the Mway onto the parkway would add to an already bad problem, but - as I said - i'm not sure how much of a problem it would cause.

In the grand scheme of things, would adding an Ikea store have that great an impact?

I agree people will go to Ikea wherever it is. Having said that, I'd like to see it in the city centre if that were possible. It's not so much about taking people out of the city centre, because it probably wouldn't have a big effect, but it would be a massive boost to the city centre if it were built there.

The cost and time involved in adding an extra lane to the Parkway is way too much. It's just not gonna happen. :(

Ikea would not work in the city centre. It is definately only suitable for the outskirts of a city. It's like a permenantly busy football stadium most of the weekend.

Imagine the traffic chaos when Wednesday or United are playing, all day, every day, every weekend all year round. Nightmare

Originally posted by jackthedog
The Leeds and Nottingham Ikeas are not positioned at already tight sections of the M1.

The section of motorway that runs between Rotherham and Sheffield is already a terrible bottleneck that needs improvement. Having more traffic queueing to get of the Mway onto the parkway would add to an already bad problem, but - as I said - i'm not sure how much of a problem it would cause.

In the grand scheme of things, would adding an Ikea store have that great an impact?

Have you ever been to IKEA Nottingham near rush hour time?? It is a bottleneck also then you get the M18 bottleneck.

As I said most of the shoppers would be from Sheffield and Rotherham who don't need to use the M1 to get to the parkway. And def wouldn't use it during rush-hour. Morrsion's and Big W are on the Parkway and since these were built don't see any difference with traffic on M1, the roadworks that are needed at Meadowhall have caused more hold ups.

Jubby

Not really saying it's not a problem at Nottingham.

I'm saying it may make our already bad problems a lot worse.

I don't really know the problems it may cause but I think an Ikea in Sheffield is a great Idea.
Why it would take business from the city I know don't cos it is like they sell everything you need.

Some of their stuff is not my taste but there is a large amount of it that is. I have been to both the near ikeas and Nottingham is a nightmare if only because the people there are inconsiderate morons (not the staff).

Moon

The M1 is supposedly being expanded in the future around here anyway - not that I'll believe it until I see it...

I always think it's odd that they they could widen the M1 at sheffield. How can they get more than four lanes over the viaduct? Dont know if it'd be wide enough.

Well that would probably be a bottle neck but I think it was South of that they were planning on expanding, can't remember though to be honest. For what it's worth the viaduct should be rebuilt or something, hardly in tip top shape now is it :)

Maybe we should remove the viaduct completely and just put in two big ramps - one northbound, one southbound, and have the cars travel at increased speed limits so they can just jump the valley.

Seriously though, it is a bit of a problem because the M18 joins just a bit further south too, which causes loads of hassle as the traffic merges.

Well the viaduct isn't in any state to handle more traffic so god knows what they'll do with it - graet planning as per usual :)

It was unlikely that they could predict the growth of traffic when they built the viaduct. It is rubbish though, it's been in various states of repair as long as I can remember.

With these sorts of restrictions, it's easy to see why the council might want to deny Ikea planning permission on congestion grounds.

If they dont have an Ikea, they wont have to bother with any of it. If they do, then problems will arise that they will have to deal with.

It's easier for them to just turn Ikea down, no matter how good it could be for the city.

Just tell 'em sure they can build one but they have to pay for the roads to be sorted, if Ikea tell 'em to **** off (which they probably would) then problem solved, they won't be bugging 'em anymore :D

I should be a planner.......

The planning meetings i've been to could have done with your vision and mastery of problem-solving :)

Originally posted by fnkysknky
Just tell 'em sure they can build one but they have to pay for the roads to be sorted, if Ikea tell 'em to **** off (which they probably would) then problem solved, they won't be bugging 'em anymore :D

I should be a planner.......

The thing I can't understand is, they have been turning IKEA down for 10 years, but allowed an airport, Big W and Morrisons, on a bit of the parkway that only really had an exit road for Catcliffe and Catcliffe Flash oh and the open coal mine.

Why do they keep turning down IKEA and allow these other projects to go ahead. Morrisons was more contrvirsal than IKEA is.

Jubby

i think an ikea in sheffield would be ace as previous posts state it would create more jobs and bring more people to sheffield that would maybe not come as long as they designed the road system well enough i think sheffield council should let them build here

Ikea is my absolutely favourite shop, so if one came to Sheffield I would be absolutely chuffed! :P

I don't drive so if I want to go there I have to wait til my next trip to Birmingham and go to the one down there :rolleyes:

And altering the Parkway might not be a bad thing. That roads a deathtrap so hopefully they will use the opportunity to put some safety measures on there ;)

I have never experienced Ikea but I have heard good things about it and the prospect of Swedish flat pack furniture intriegues me...
Although I am more of an Argos girl when it comes to the humble flat pack.
When it comes to stealing custom I always thought the idea when shopping was to have and idea of what you want, shop around then buy the cheapest thing regardless of outlet.
However this always falls flat with me anyway because as soon as Ive bought something I see it in the half price sales the next day! :mad:

Originally posted by Mosherchik
I have never experienced Ikea but I have heard good things about it and the prospect of Swedish flat pack furniture intriegues me...
Although I am more of an Argos girl when it comes to the humble flat pack.
When it comes to stealing custom I always thought the idea when shopping was to have and idea of what you want, shop around then buy the cheapest thing regardless of outlet.
However this always falls flat with me anyway because as soon as Ive bought something I see it in the half price sales the next day! :mad:

IKEA has things that you can't get elsewhere, and because of its size you can get something for every room.

Also they have showrooms made up, a bit like kitchen showrooms, so you be looking around adn then see something in one of these "rooms" and then get inspiration. Can cole bothers do that??

Jubby

Originally posted by jubby
The thing I can't understand is, they have been turning IKEA down for 10 years, but allowed an airport, Big W and Morrisons, on a bit of the parkway that only really had an exit road for Catcliffe and Catcliffe Flash oh and the open coal mine.

Why do they keep turning down IKEA and allow these other projects to go ahead. Morrisons was more contrvirsal than IKEA is.

Jubby

Morrisons and Big W are actually in Rotherham, and permissions would have been sort from Rotherham council.

Can't they put it on the Rotherham side of the M1 where the road isn't so busy? I'd be happy 'cos it'd save going to Leeds or Nottingham. Ikea are great so long as you're careful not to buy the really bad quality stuff and you use extra glue and screws on everything to hold it together :-)

I would love IKEA to come to Sheffield I love it!! Also they let Matalan build just off the parkway so why not?

Originally posted by garrence
Ikea are great so long as you're careful not to buy the really bad quality stuff and you use extra glue and screws on everything to hold it together :-)
Never had anything of bad quality from Ikea and we've got stuff in every room in the house from there.
I'd love to not have to drive down to Nottingham (I refuse to go to Leeds, it's a nightmare getting out of that retail complex, and it's in Leeds :) )

i'm a planner (not council) and we own the waverly development site - the only problem i can see with an ikea here is transport related but having said that these type of bulk orientated 'warehouses' are more suited to edge of settlement locations and not generally suited to city centres

wouldn't really displace any trade from the city centre as they do not generally sell comparable goods and - although ikea do diversify quite a bit so perhaps there would be some dis-placement but in my view there would have been be more of a case to turn down an application for Morrisons - the main argument for a Morrisons in this location would have been to provide for local needs as waverly is a mixed use scheme providing housing

the masterplan proposes a tram link but this wouldn't really help the case for ikea due to the nature of goods

would be cool to have an ikea though

Originally posted by Bedhead
the masterplan proposes a tram link but this wouldn't really help the case for ikea due to the nature of goods

How about free or very cheap delivery for anyone within (eg) 20 miles who spends £100+, arrives by public transport and shows their ticket?

It'd cost Ikea a bit, but they'd need fewer parking spaces. They may also get more sales because people will buy things that aren't in stock for later delivery, rather than just not buying something if it's out.-of-stock. Sheffield would benefit by having a reduced (or, rather, less increased) amount of traffic.

I should run the council, me. Benign dictatorships are the way forward.

wouldn't be enforceable as a condition upon the grant of planning permission -

good idea though, like your trail of thought
wanna job?!

Originally posted by Bedhead
wanna job?!
Do I get to banish wooly thinking and deal with countries that harbour wooly thinkers? Oh, and play with little models.

If they build an Ikea in Sheffield, I would go to there. At the same time I might go to Walmart, Asda, Brantano, Matalan, Meadowhall etc. etc. in Sheffield whereas when I go to Ikea Leeds I go to Curry's, Comet etc. all on the same trading estate. I might even pop in to Leeds city centre to do a bit of shopping. Also other people would most probably do the same.
So Sheffield loses out... So in my opinion Sheffield would gain by having an Ikea.

Another thing: an Ikea (or a similar store) would be perfect for Sheffield's esteem. Perhaps more visitors will come to the city.

There would be an inevitable leakage of trade from the city centre, but I'm not convinced that it would be anywhere near as much as the Council pretend.

No, I believe that they are protecting the NRQ (New Retail Quarter) rather obsessively because they are determined that it will succeed. The alternative is for Sheffield Council and Sheffield One to look incredibly stupid and ineffectual.

Whether the NRQ happens is still in the balance - the council have missed all their targets so far, and only have 1 major anchor tenant - John Lewis - who are already here and are effectively getting a free brand new store (they would be silly not to say yes). NRQ is a commercial project, and as such has to make money - it doesn't get lottery cash like the other Heart of the City projects.

So you see, IKEA isn't coming to Sheffield for purely political and personal career reasons.

all good but it's Rotherham MB Council's patch - not sheffields

Did I say differently?

'they are protecting the NRQ' i'm assuming you mean sheffield city council? and an ikea not being of regional significance (in planning terms) i would doubt that sheffield c council have any teeth in any objection it raised on rotherhams patch - if rotherham feel that an ikea would suit its objectives they'd approve it - sheffield C C are able to voice their objection to Waverly as a whole as that is of regional significance

god i sound boring!

http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/graphics/Environment/planning

Originally posted by Tony
So you see, IKEA isn't coming to Sheffield for purely political and personal career reasons.
At last, someone as cynical as me... :P

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but when I asked an employee of Ikea Nottingham she informed me that Ikea themselves had decided not to open in Sheffield. She explained that Ikea's success was its lack of stores. People will always buy something (or even quite a lot) in order to make the long trip seem worthwhile.

With stores in Notts and Leeds (both 1 hour from here) the company didn't see much benefit of opening one in Sheffield.

I will contact Ikea's press office to double check this.

PS. Merged this thread with last month's Ikea thread. Please use search before posting!

At last, someone as cynical as me... :P! [/QUOTE]

It only takes a short while of trying to work with the system in Sheffield. :D

Originally posted by Geoff
Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but when I asked an employee of Ikea Nottingham she informed me that Ikea themselves had decided not to open in Sheffield. She explained that Ikea's success was its lack of stores. People will always buy something (or even quite a lot) in order to make the long trip seem worthwhile.

With stores in Notts and Leeds (both 1 hour from here) the company didn't see much benefit of opening one in Sheffield.

That's interesting. I had wondered, because there is nothing better than having customers feeling obliged after having made all that effort. It’s a clever marketing strategy for a homewares store – limit access, increase desire.

This puzzles me. A woman who works in the shop in Nottingham and maybe isn't management isn't going to know about expansion plans. Ikea state on their website that they are planning a Sheffield store:
http://www.ikea.co.uk/ms/en_GB/customer_service/faq/faq.html#0000

Leeds and Nottingham being an hour away is of no consequence, it's how many people are in the area which counts. Therefore a second Manchester shop (Stockport). I live in Germany, and have four IKEAs within a twenty minute drive.

This puzzles me. A woman who works in the shop in Nottingham and maybe isn't management isn't going to know about expansion plans.
:loopy:

What makes you so sure that someone working for Ikea wouldn't know about the plans of her own company?! Besides, she was actually right to a certain extent. I've had a reply from Ikea's press office which says: "We are looking at potential sites throughout the UK but at present there are no plans to open a store in sheffield."

When I asked the reason why Sheffield was not selected they said they would reply on Monday as it was 5.30 and their Property Manager wasn't available.

I will keep you informed :)

Ok, here's the official response:

I have spoken with our property manager and all we are prepared to say about Sheffield at this time is:

IKEA are investigating other sites in closer proximity to Sheffield town centre and we are in on going discussions with the local council.

Running a web site with over 3,000 Sheffielders (plus others of course) has it benefits from time to time :)

ooooh, "Sheffield Town Centre" :lol:

Yeah, Sheffield that small town up north somewhere. :D

Originally posted by Geoff
Ok, here's the official response:

I have spoken with our property manager and all we are prepared to say about Sheffield at this time is:

IKEA are investigating other sites in closer proximity to Sheffield town centre and we are in on going discussions with the local council.

Running a web site with over 3,000 Sheffielders (plus others of course) has it benefits from time to time :)

Cheers for that Geoff,

Maybe Rotherham or Barnsley or maybe even Chesterfield will allow it, be better than driving to Nottingham to shop there.

Jubby

I LOVE IKEA!!!:D:D

we should start a petition then submit it to the council!! (probably won't do anything though)

How about a new Ikea near the Halfway terminus of Supertram. I'm sure Chesterfield people would use it too. There is already a good park and ride facility

Originally posted by riddo7up
How about a new Ikea near the Halfway terminus of Supertram. I'm sure Chesterfield people would use it too. There is already a good park and ride facility

You'll look well getting your flatpack wardrobe home on the tram! :D

.............

Can we have an IKEA on that derelict land at the bottom of the Moor now that Woolworths have pulled out?
Come on Sheffield council - could we give it a go?

er shouldn't you ask ikea to give it a go first :huh:

Oooh I hope they build one in or around Sheffield! Can get all my storage etc....easily from them!

A new IKEA would be great, BUT I heard an IKEA rep on radio 4 the other week saying something about the company had been stopped from building any more new stores in England. Can't remember why but could only build in Scotland and Wales, hence new store in Cardiff recently....

I hope not, Ikea is great. It'd be good if they had one in Sheffiield.

Can we have an IKEA on that derelict land at the bottom of the Moor now that Woolworths have pulled out?
Come on Sheffield council - could we give it a go?

I don't think theres enough space for an Ikea, have you seen how big they are?

I thought that new business park thing in Chapeltown would have been a good site for an Ikea, since it's about 2 seconds off the motorway. Wonder if they ever thought about it?

Why don't IKEA take over the old MFI buildings at the bottom of the moor? Can't see how anyone can raise objections to that as it wouldn't even be change of use.

:love: Ikea, I could live in there happily!

Why don't IKEA take over the old MFI buildings at the bottom of the moor? Can't see how anyone can raise objections to that as it wouldn't even be change of use.

It's opening as a branch of Aldi in a few weeks' time.

My OH works in Nottingham .. when it was really snowy the one thought my daughter had was .. "How brilliant would it be to have a sleepover in IKEA?"

My children used to dream of living in the IKEA rooms, they had picked out their favourites and dreamt of being locked in and spending the night there.

it could be an entirely different concept of ikea, they could have their showrooms in the old co op building on castlegate, and a big warehouse somewhere on the tram route, so people could park and ride and when they come back to their cars they can simply pick the goods up :-)

What's the fascination with ikea? I've been a couple of times to see what all the fuss is about and I just didn't get excited. Most of the stuff was tacky. Great for students and kids rooms but other than that I don't get it.