The city centre used to be a great place in the 60's, it had a good selection of high quality shops and had good nightlife. If you wanted to eat during the day time there was the Sidewalk on Chapel Walk, the Danish Kitchen above Hornes at the top of King Street, the Little Mermaid on Surrey Street (or was it Norfolk Street? I could never work out where one ended and the other started) and the La Favorita on Charles Street. The only fast food in those days was fish & chips, do you remember Mary Gentle's on Howard Street (pure quality).

We had real pubs that served good beer and were well run, remember Bill Hoffman's Stone House, Frank Drabble's Yorkshireman and George Butler's Three Cranes on Queen Street not to forget the Gold Bar in the old Grand Hotel, that was pure class.

Everything appears to be very arty farty, closed or a Pound shop, the car parks are concrete relics of the late 60's and too expensive and too few. The company that I work for moved offices from S11 to the city centre two years ago because we were able to get twice the floor space for the same rent as S11. Our offices hadn't been occupied for three years and we found out that the top floor had been empty for fifteen years, this didn't stop the council trying to double our rates.

People tell me that Leeds and Manchester are buzzing, Sheffield is just decaying. What about all the expensive inner city flats, are they the slums of the future? The council tell us that the regeneration of the city centre is superb, have I missed something? The new St Pauls Hotel doesn't appear to have a car park and the planned stainless steel feature near the Midland Station is being constructed abroad, give me a break if we can't make it in Sheffield then we shouldn't bother. My question is who would want to come to Sheffield City Centre anyway, the shopping and parking facilities are abysmal?

As a kid I loved to walk round the market area, I know that the old Rag & Tag is long gone but the Castle Market was great particulally the meat and fish part, blame that for my love of shell fish. It now looks like down town Beirut, does anyone at the Town Hall feel embarrassed because they ought to?

Well thats got that lot off my chest and I feel better for it.

Parts of it are, but many cities have the same problem. The city is on the up, and that can only be what the fabulous people who live here truly deserve.

Eh I remember back in the early 21st century, about 2006 if my memory serves me right how great Sheffield city centre was.

There was so much development and activity going on, new buildings and public spaces been developed it was hard to keep track of what was going on from one month to the next.

There were some great places to go out and grab a bite to eat, as a young man I remember great nights in the Wig and Pen, Cafe Guru and loads more. It was great for a few drinks with the lads with a mix of buzzing places like the Common Room or Vodka Revolution as well as some traditional pubs like the Rutland, Bath Hotel and the Red Deer.

Some great memories all round!

(sorry for being a little provocative just trying to show its all a matter of perspective and personal taste I suppose!)

As a kid I loved to walk round the market area, I know that the old Rag & Tag is long gone but the Castle Market was great particulally the meat and fish part, blame that for my love of shell fish. It now looks like down town Beirut

It's always been scruffy down there (my nan has said this many times), if anything I think it's cleaner now round the markets than it was when I was a kid.

I loved the atmosphere of Sheffield in the 70s and 80s although it was pretty grotty in places, we just forget that, i think in our youth we just saw things differently.
Personaly i love the way things are going for the city, it has a great mix of style and culture and the fact that people are prepared to air their opinions in places like this forum also proves we have a great civic pride.
When i look at places like the moor and see the state of it i think of the potential and know it will be something else to look forward to, the new things some people oppose now will be the things our children will be fighting to save in the future.
It's progress and i think on the whole Sheffield is doing fine.

Hate to say it but it's a dump now. The Moor has had more makeovers than Joan Collins and looks as bad. The future is all about "managed decline" now, as it is for the UK as a whole, only we don't have the olde worlde charm of places like York or even Chesterfield.

We used to erect statues to the pioneers of steel production, now all we can probably look forward to is a celebration of the city's modern day retail heroes such as Jack Fulton or T.J.Hughes. Messrs Walsh, Cockayne, Coles et al would turn in their graves.

I think once St Pauls Square (soon) and the NRQ are complete it'll all start pulling together nicely.

I say leave the Moor as it is, but enhance it's market stalls into something more permanent and of less dubious trade.

I think city living will continue to thrive, but personally i think the design of some complexes could have been much better. More glass and less brick is the way to go to help keep them look modern.

I think people should take more notice of the good things in the city centre e.g. the architecture etc instead of moaning about things that, like said above, most cities suffer from. There are just as many delapidated areas of Manchester/Leed's centres if you care to take notice.

There are still some areas crying out for investment and redevelopment, none more so than the Moor which is in an appalling state.

But certainly, the Heart of the City development is a vast improvement and once in a while my family find themselves doing something we certainly would not have done 10, 20 years since. And that is to go down town on a Sunday, do a bit of shopping (mainly record and book shops but not exclusively) then find a pub for a bite to eat and to have a few drinks.

A walk through the Winter Gardens and into the Peace Gardens is always enjoyed by my young girls and I enjoy it too. When the other square is opened between the Peace Gardens and Winter Gardens it'll be even nicer, especially in summer (although I have serious concerns regarding the 32 storey building planned for this area as it will surely have a huge impact on daylight/natural lighting of the area).

But things are going in the right direction although if big business is to be attracted to Sheffield, then the council are going to have to bite the bullet and make the place accessable by car once again (and that is one large sticking point).

Finally, there's also the Leopold Street development to look forward to. IMO, things ain't too bad!

Going back to the city living thing ......

.... i believe there is a huge market for £0.5m luxury pads in the city centre.

Plenty of people spend this on houses in the suburbs, so why not offer something in th city as an alternative?

OK, you generally get a garden/garage/4 bedrooms for a house. Imagine a very prestigious, high quality design development with secure parking, roof gardens etc (no, not West One!)

We need to be more brave to kickstart a better level of progression.

shouldn't this thread be locked away in the old fart's section of the forum...te he

This old fart had a great time in this city and I wouldn't swop you, your brain dead comments are water off a ducks back. And by the way where did you get te he? I suppose that you could be an infant who has got hold of its parents computer.

If you think its cleaner now I would hate to see your home

What's his problem?

:loopy:

This old fart had a great time in this city and I wouldn't swop you, your brain dead comments are water off a ducks back. And by the way where did you get te he? I suppose that you could be an infant who has got hold of its parents computer.

you sound nice, and don't sound at all bitter about being a coffin dodger

i'm 25 actually, fit as fiddle......so no i'm not an infant

and 'te he' was to note that my post was light hearted

We need to be more brave to kickstart a better level of progression.

Sadly Sheffield hasn't the financial clout or prestige to be able to dictate to the developers, it seems to be the case that the developers who are prepared to spend money here do so largely on their own terms. A case of he who pays the piper calls the tune.

Roof gardens and adequate free parking for residents of apartment blocks should be obvious, logical things to include in a development - do any have either ?

Welcome to the forum Crooksey - there's a fair bit of old fart back-up on here if you need it :D

I walked through Reigate in Surrey today. Reigate is one the wealthiest towns in Britain. The amount of litter was disgusting. It seems to me that British people prefer to live in dumps!

Ahhhh this is dull :suspect:

but for what its worth, I moved here in '99 and its a hell of a lot better than when I first got here in my opinion

great place to live enjoy it

I walked through Reigate in Surrey today. Reigate is one the wealthiest towns in Britain. The amount of litter was disgusting. It seems to me that British people prefer to live in dumps!

Your part of Kent's pretty affluent too...

:)

Sadly Sheffield hasn't the financial clout or prestige to be able to dictate to the developers, it seems to be the case that the developers who are prepared to spend money here do so largely on their own terms. A case of he who pays the piper calls the tune.

Roof gardens and adequate free parking for residents of apartment blocks should be obvious, logical things to include in a development - do any have either ?

Welcome to the forum Crooksey - there's a fair bit of old fart back-up on here if you need it :D

What century do you people live in?

I know LOTS of people who own some of the best apartments in the city who could easily afford much more, IF there were properties available.

As i said, people who have the money have no choice but to buy in the suburbs that would prefer something a little more prestigious close to all the amenities.

well im not sure really, but near bhs near wolkos is scruffy, looks a right dump, when did that shut now, it opened as a cheap shop ages ago, but done nowt since, looks a dump now.

Hmm. Sheffield has become a much better place these past few years.
Its been redeveloped with the help of outside investment from certain european countries as it was seen as a post-industrial mess. Quite alot of the development has been done by a german company. I wonder if its to make up for the 1940's demolition? :D
I think it is much better now. The Devonshire Quarter has some great shops!!

all the markets area is being demolished and re developed hence the empty buildings as is the moor the empty block at the top sunwin hiuse and mcdonalds are all coming down soon if any of the amateur developers on here know of another method other than emptying buildings as leases end etc before starting developments they could be in for a big payday and fame.as for the original whinger its people like him that have held back sheffield for so long he loves the sixties but he hates the concrete relics left over from the sixties hmmm makes sense and finally the simple solution if leeds and manchester are so great why are you still here ?
a proud sheffielder

Harsh words stejen but true enough, while we should be proud of our industrial heritage and preserve the best of the older buildings we ought to still have room to progress.
I would'nt want to live in a museum of a city any more than i'd like to see a city of concrete and glass.
There are threads on this forum lamenting the demise of the hole in the road and while it had become a mess a lot of us remember it fondly because of the personal relationship we had with the place, we remember going with parents to see the fish or meeting a girlfriend, or first got mugged, whatever, with new buildings we only have our first impressions and need time to relate to it.
I have lived in other cities and it is the same all over, some for change others against, but often the best indication of how well the planners are doing is how visitors see the city and if outside investors want to move here.

It seems strange that someone who has a memory of something going back further than his detractors is classed as a whinger. At least I have managed some responce to my thread, thats what I was hoping for.

My mother thought that Sheffield City Centre was at its best during the war and my grandfather swore blind that the 20's was the time to be here. It's all relative, we all tend to think that things were better when we were in our teens or twenties. I envy you youngsters your music, you have a far larger choice of quality bands than my generation had.

The one thing that I am being firm on is the pubs issue, the new bar culture doesn't lend itself to a mix of ages, no wonder most of you don't understand older people when you are never given the chance to meet them over a pint.

I suspect that the Castle Markets area will be looking a lot better in a few years time. The markets themselves are due to move to the Moor next year, which presumably, hopefully, means that the whole of that side of Waingate can be bulldozed and something decent put in it's place. I imagine that the office development behind Wilkinson's will set the tone, and the area will be filled in with a mix of shops and offices, possibly some housing, given that it's so close to the city centre. Then we'll have a modern markets building on the Moor as well as the NRQ.

IF they do a decent job of Park Hill, and the park in front of them, added to everything else that's going on, I'm optimistic.

I remeber the days of the 'hole in the road' in town back in the early 90's when I was at school. Remember the big fish tank in that subway?

Who remembers the fountain at the top of Fargate? My last memory of that was being pushed into it by one of my mates when I was at university during Pyjama Jump!

I've lived in Sheffield my whole life and it's gone through loads of changes. When my parents came to Sheffield from Jamaica in the 60's, they said you could go up and down in your car past the City Hall. Just hard trying to imagine it since I've always known it as a walkway. And I was born in the mid / late 70's.

I remember going to Castle Market most Saturdays with my mum and my younger brother when I was a kid and it felt really nice and safe around there. Nowadays, I see people swigging down Special Brew at 10am along there, drunken fights etc.

I feel there's potential with Sheffield. Someone at work said the Wicker is being redeveloped in some way. Whether or not this is true I don't know. I know there are building a lot of roads through Pitsmoor and along Spital Hill. Only time will tell I suppose..................

I think there's clearly a lot of development going on now. Although there's still a long way to go, compared to 1997 when I arrived here the city centre is thriving.

My personal concern is that the developments are not very individual. I think it's a flawed strategy to attempt to out-Leeds Leeds when Sheffield has a unique atmosphere of its own. I'd prefer to see more old industrial buildings being restored and re-purposed rather than demolished and replaced with generic steel, brick and glass rectangles.

Also, I think Sheffield's lack of parking is very positive and progressive. There's never a good reason to drive into a city centre. Okay, maybe if you're buying a fridge freezer. But that's it.

I think there's clearly a lot of development going on now. Although there's still a long way to go, compared to 1997 when I arrived here the city centre is thriving.

My personal concern is that the developments are not very individual. I think it's a flawed strategy to attempt to out-Leeds Leeds when Sheffield has a unique atmosphere of its own. I'd prefer to see more old industrial buildings being restored and re-purposed rather than demolished and replaced with generic steel, brick and glass rectangles.

Also, I think Sheffield's lack of parking is very positive and progressive. There's never a good reason to drive into a city centre. Okay, maybe if you're buying a fridge freezer. But that's it.

I agree. I think Sheffield is very much in the process of going through a transition: at the moment, it doesn't really know what it is. For historical reasons, local geography, and sometimes questionable planning, Shef has a number of areas that are very vibrant: the devonshire quarter, West St., Eccy road - as well as what is traditionally thought of as "the centre" Fargate, Peace gardens etc. The architecture around many of these areas is beautiful in its own right...look at some of the ornate facades around fargate, some of which are being conserved as part of a new development.
Sheffield needs diversity in it's architecture. It's the myriad different types of buildings, different styles and forms, that add to the fabric of a town. There's no such thing as a perfect city. The problem in Sheffield is that the rate of investment is currently much less than that in Leeds, or Birmingham, so buildings are being put up at a slower rate, and hence stick out like a sore thumb. I actually like the St. Paul's development now, but saying that, I also liked the egg boxes.
The lack of individuality seibu talks about does detract from a city. Look at The Moor, a development rushed up in just a few years, a short hop from the beauty of the town hall and Peace Gardens. Buildings there are ugly, and their standardized, grey forms make a mockery of the individuality of Moorfoot (OK, again, you may not like it, but it is certainly a statement). Will our friends at the Deutsche bank construct a super-efficient, no-personality super-mall in the proposed commercial quarter? Or something with more vision?
In my opinion, the developments around Sheaf Square are the most important at the moment. For many, it will be the first thing they see as they arrive into Sheffield. But what about the entire facade of Pond Street (Roxy, Car Park, Greasy Spoon/Charity Shops etc.)? It's a mess! I've spoken to many people who feel that it should be completely rennovated, but I have to admit I think the best thing would be to start again i.e. get rid of it. Build a new city library / centre for the people...with tunnels linking it to the galleries etc...give it a gleaming glass front and huge escalators criss-crossing its face. Or something. Modernism lives (in my mind).
Ditto the back-end of Castle Market (Wilkos etc.), which is an eyesore when seen from the train. Harder one to deal with that, cos I guess it is the market...
At the moment

At the moment Sheffield has lost its identity with all the major industries in the area either closing down or shrinking. Living off the backs of service industries is dangerous and soon to collapse leaving Sheffield in worse shape.

Trying to attract people to Sheffield as a student seems to be working well but the cretins are taking up jobs the locals needs, so bog off students when you're done here.

City living is ok for young bankers, I did say bankers, but apart from that housing developments are much needed elsewhere around the city.

These housing redevelopment plans are a load of crap, usually houses are built near industry, not the otherway around. Typical crappy council thinking.

Trying to attract people to Sheffield as a student seems to be working well but the cretins are taking up jobs the locals needs, so bog off students when you're done here.


It'd be nice to see exactly how many jobs that could have been taken by 'the locals' have been taken by students - in my experience, many of the people who have graduated here and stayed or moved here as graduates are working off their own backs and doing creative stuff...music, making art, running club nights. And a large number are employed in research or admin posts at the universities...jobs which, more often than not, would require them to be graduates.

Trying to attract people to Sheffield as a student seems to be working well but the cretins are taking up jobs the locals needs, so bog off students when you're done here.



I've been away from these forums for a little while for various reasons - not exactly a 'serial poster' at the best of times but I feel I have to comment on this. I came to sheffield as a student in 1989 and stayed here because I like the place and (mostly) the people.

If I (and the many other students who choose to stay) 'bogged off' then I feel Sheffield would be a sorry place (and less wealthy! - I've paid good taxes since 1993 and spend my money in the city).

In terms of the thread - Sheffield is doing well and the centre looks better now than it has ever done IMO - future plans also look upbeat - sorry to inform you kipper but this ex-student intends to stick around....

I like Sheffield, but it never seems to be finished, it takes so long to complete one project that by the time they do other ones are looking dated and need redoing.

I also think it needs better signs, some of the best shops are up West Street / Devonshire Green area... a visitor to the city would not think of wandering that far.

The Moor needs a face lift, as does Castle Market... if this was to happen it would be great, but by the time it's finished Fargate would look knackered :confused:

Trying to attract people to Sheffield as a student seems to be working well but the cretins are taking up jobs the locals needs, so bog off students when you're done here.

.

Two points:

!. Kipper you have no idea how the world works. Bringing students into the city will help generate wealth in Sheffield, which is economically disadvantage compared to its nearest rivals - Manchester, Leeds & Nottingham (all with thriving student populations). Students become graduates, and if you can persaude them to stay, they will create jobs in the city, rather than take jobs off locals.

2. Sheffield isn't a great city to live in, but is remarkedly better than it was even only 5 years ago. You can't fault the people of Sheffield though as they are by far the friendliest big-city population I have ever had the pleasure to meet....

So give yourselves a big pat on the back, but omg you all deserve a better environment.

Forgot to say:

What the hell have they put up outside the HaHa Bar in the Peace Gardens???

The Peace Gardens is a fantastic area to spend time in.... and then they put up that piece of archetechtural tripe... is the 60s back in fashion?
:loopy:

Back inta good old days when we lived in 2 up 2 downs had a tin bath and an outside toilet

archetechtural tripe - nice wording!

It looks 'different' but better than the building that was pulled down, that looked horrible.

The company that I work for moved offices from S11 to the city centre two years ago because we were able to get twice the floor space for the same rent as S11.
This says a lot: but Sheffield (like Liverpool) is disadvantaged by not being a regional capital, and perhaps from having only a few big players - the government depts and HSBC etc - distorting the market.

I've been away from these forums for a little while for various reasons - not exactly a 'serial poster' at the best of times but I feel I have to comment on this. I came to sheffield as a student in 1989 and stayed here because I like the place and (mostly) the people.

If I (and the many other students who choose to stay) 'bogged off' then I feel Sheffield would be a sorry place (and less wealthy! - I've paid good taxes since 1993 and spend my money in the city).

In terms of the thread - Sheffield is doing well and the centre looks better now than it has ever done IMO - future plans also look upbeat - sorry to inform you kipper but this ex-student intends to stick around....

Good for you UrbanMoth.

I'd much rather see students stick around to take the jobs than give them to people who can't be arsed to make efforts to furthertheir careers.

I'm only generalising of course, but i see many local people with negative attitudes.

We should applaud people wanting to come and study here and hopefully stick around to use their skills and help the city thrive.

TBH it angers me when i hear people talking negatively about the students here. Our universities create an enormous amount of jobs for local people and have certainly helped put Sheffield on the global stage.

My twopenneth.

If it weren't for students, a night out in the city centre would be akin to a night out in Hillsborough, i.e. dodging aggressive men with moustaches who want to hit you.

this city would be dead without the students, the money they bring into the economy, the jobs that the create and the positions they fill.

Going back to the city living thing ......

.... i believe there is a huge market for £0.5m luxury pads in the city centre.

Plenty of people spend this on houses in the suburbs, so why not offer something in th city as an alternative?



are you joking or are you an estate agent?

are you joking or are you an estate agent?

I certainly aint an estate agent and why would i be joking?

Are you trying to suggest i'm wrong or something?

A lot of ' Sheffielders ' completely miss the point when they talk about Sheffield in the past .
Each 'age ' thinks it's the ' bee's knees ' . This is simply because they can't see 40or 50 years into the future . E.G. the Sheffielders of 2051 will no doubt look back and sneer [or admire ] our life-styles . It's childish to try to compare " like with unlike " i.e. comparing 2006 with 1966 . You have to make that imaginative ' leap ' into the past .
What did the Sheffielder of 1966 see ? Full employment and a still-vibrant steel industry . A society that seemed to be getting more and more relaxed ; university education expanding ; foreign travel and holidays on the increase ; a clean Sheffield emerging from the pre-1960 dirt and grime of the old Sheffield .New housing going up , housing that people seemed to be proud of living in .No doubt there are other things I've missed out ..........the beginning of night clubs .......the relaxation of draconian sex-offence laws ........the safety in general on the streets ........
It's a childish mistake to believe that chronological progress means progress in regard to happiness or quality of life . Yet a lot of people simplistically think that Modern = Good .Were the 1920's in Britain better than the years 1900-1914 ? Was it nicer to live in the 1940's than in the 1930's in Britain ? Certain periods do , genuinely , seem better than others , regardless of dates . Certain years are 'Golden Years ' ?
The Sheffield of today , seems to me , to be like a quiet town , most of the time , rather than a lively city ; considering the billions that have been spent on it since the 1960's , I honestly don't think we've had value for money at all .Everything else being equal , the '60's were far , far better , in my view .

Hang on, but surely from the locals' perspective, as a city, we cannot depend on students spending power ? I can understand the point about students sometimes messing up the city centre with their sick or drunken antics. (Ok, ok, I'm hypocritical, cos I was a student once too, but I did it in Manchester.) Now that I'm considered as a local residence, and pays my council taxes, I too would want the city to prosper beyond just another 'student city'. Do we want to become a 'student town' ? Don't we have anything else to offer ? I know we're not exactly a tourist spot, but... what else will bring people into the city, if not businesses ?

Then again, I hope we don't become one of those 'commuters towns' like Reading. Full of IT companies, and high property prices. Once the IT industry dropped, it killed the whole place. There's many other towns and cities around the world which goes through regenerations. I know when Boeing was hit, Seattle was left with a reminant of old flight factories. Unemployment was high. microsoft kinda saved it a tad, but when IT was hit... Though they do have an impressive looking city. It was so surreal as a tourist going through that place, cos you see in every street corner, the name of the street engraved in brass on the street ! It showed how wealthy the city was, once upon a time.

For Sheffield's sake, I hope we will balance the game well, and continue to prosper.

The Sheffield of today , seems to me , to be like a quiet town , most of the time , rather than a lively city ; considering the billions that have been spent on it since the 1960's , I honestly don't think we've had value for money at all .Everything else being equal , the '60's were far , far better , in my view .

Interesting opinion, yet i don't see how you can view Sheffield as a quiet town?

Check out the sheer traffic coming in and out of the city during rush hour. We've often commented on how busy the streets and roads are on sundays nowadays. Sundays are starting to feel like any other day of the week. Check out the bars/clubs on most nights of the week. Check out the main shoppings areas. Most gyms and other leisure facilities are always too busy to fully enjoy.

I know Sheffield isn't New York, but how can you possibly make comparisons with a quiet town??

Sorry but .... :loopy:

Well , I don't think you can judge a city's ' liveliness ' on its traffic ; rather the opposite in a way . I think of a city as a place where people of all ages , groups and conditions mix together most of the day and night , inter-acting , shops , restaurants , bars ------all open to varied age groups .
To help this along , of course , you need a good transport system to get people to WANT to travel to town and you have to have safe streets so that people are happy to take their families to the centre .
Most continental cities manage to do this so it's not one of those impossible dreams ; also , as I said , at least in the '60's , Sheffield was more like a real city .
Now , except for Saturdays , the city centre feels half-dead and sleepy and if the bars are buzzing in Town on a week-day , well that's something , if true ! But what about the shops , the streets , the cafes , the restaurants ? It takes all sorts to " make" a city feel like a city -----------and it's certainly not its traffic volume !

I have just read this thread and don't think that Sheffield is much worse than other big cities. Most places have there dodgy areas or places that look like a dump. There are some nice bars and places to eat scattered around the city. I agree the Moor and where the Markets were isn't great but look at how West St has developed.:)

Then again, I hope we don't become one of those 'commuters towns' like Reading. Full of IT companies, and high property prices. Once the IT industry dropped, it killed the whole place. There's many other towns and cities around the world which goes through regenerations. I know when Boeing was hit, Seattle was left with a reminant of old flight factories. Unemployment was high. microsoft kinda saved it a tad, but when IT was hit... Though they do have an impressive looking city. It was so surreal as a tourist going through that place, cos you see in every street corner, the name of the street engraved in brass on the street ! It showed how wealthy the city was, once upon a time.

For Sheffield's sake, I hope we will balance the game well, and continue to prosper.

Hmm, Reading, now there's a **** hole. It always pays to keep things in perspective. Sheffield may not be perfect, but at least it's not Reading. Or Hemel Hempstead.

Well , I don't think you can judge a city's ' liveliness ' on its traffic ; rather the opposite in a way . I think of a city as a place where people of all ages , groups and conditions mix together most of the day and night , inter-acting , shops , restaurants , bars ------all open to varied age groups .
To help this along , of course , you need a good transport system to get people to WANT to travel to town and you have to have safe streets so that people are happy to take their families to the centre .
Most continental cities manage to do this so it's not one of those impossible dreams ; also , as I said , at least in the '60's , Sheffield was more like a real city .
Now , except for Saturdays , the city centre feels half-dead and sleepy and if the bars are buzzing in Town on a week-day , well that's something , if true ! But what about the shops , the streets , the cafes , the restaurants ? It takes all sorts to " make" a city feel like a city -----------and it's certainly not its traffic volume !

But isn't this the whole point of all the development going on in the city centre, especially the emphasis on public spaces e.g. the new square adjacent the new hotel/apartments on Leopold St, St Pauls Square etc.

I don't envy our council who are finally taking charge and making changes when all people can do is be cynical.

We should be encouraging progress, not looking to the past all the time.

I'll certainly be interested to see what comes of the new drive to make public spaces in the city. Problem is it's too cold to use the ones we've got at the moment!

Two points:

!. Kipper you have no idea how the world works. Bringing students into the city will help generate wealth in Sheffield, which is economically disadvantage compared to its nearest rivals - Manchester, Leeds & Nottingham (all with thriving student populations). Students become graduates, and if you can persaude them to stay, they will create jobs in the city, rather than take jobs off locals.
Or worse still, they'll head off for Leeds and Manchester and create jobs there, because of attitudes like Kipper's.

I certainly aint an estate agent and why would i be joking?

Are you trying to suggest i'm wrong or something?


I just can't see the 'huge' market for £500,000 flats in the city centre. If there such a demand, I think there would also be a demand for Harvey Nichols, Selfridges etc and all the other decent shops we don't have/can't support.

Its just a bubble, and people are speculating especially on city living. Anyone who was to buy a £500k flat in the centre would be sitting on a nice pile of negative equity within a year or 2 .......... in my opinion.

If anyone out there wants to swap a £500k Victorian house in the suburbs for a flat in the centre, please let me know and I will build you one.

use to be a dump i think and still is in some place's but it's changed a lot for the good in the last few years its the council that wont give pomission to build things and the old ****ty building that spoil it but are listed no wonder leeds have took over as englands 4th biggist city

I remeber the days of the 'hole in the road' in town back in the early 90's when I was at school. Remember the big fish tank in that subway?

Who remembers the fountain at the top of Fargate? My last memory of that was being pushed into it by one of my mates when I was at university during Pyjama Jump!

I've lived in Sheffield my whole life and it's gone through loads of changes. When my parents came to Sheffield from Jamaica in the 60's, they said you could go up and down in your car past the City Hall. Just hard trying to imagine it since I've always known it as a walkway. And I was born in the mid / late 70's.

I remember going to Castle Market most Saturdays with my mum and my younger brother when I was a kid and it felt really nice and safe around there. Nowadays, I see people swigging down Special Brew at 10am along there, drunken fights etc.

I feel there's potential with Sheffield. Someone at work said the Wicker is being redeveloped in some way. Whether or not this is true I don't know. I know there are building a lot of roads through Pitsmoor and along Spital Hill. Only time will tell I suppose..................

DapperDan,

This is a case of going off the subject by 180 degrees but as you mentioned that your parents came from Jamaica they might know the answer to this.

As a kid in the 50's (born in 1947) the only black people I had seen were on the movies. However my mates and I heard that there was a black bus conductor on the Gleadless Town End route so we went up to have a look at him.

We waited and waited until his bus finally arrived, he was tiny probably about 40 and had jet black skin so showing off his uniform white shirt. We all piled onto the bus and sat staring at him, we never said a word. Suddenly he broke into a broad smile and put his hand inside of the front of his tunic. Out of his breast pocket appeared the head of a puppet and he then proceeded to do his ventriloquist act for the full duration of the journey (save for collecting a few fares).

It soon got around and the bus stop had loads of kids waiting to be entertained, we would not get on any other bus. I wonder what happened to him, perhaps your parents will know, he was certainly a one off.

I just can't see the 'huge' market for £500,000 flats in the city centre. If there such a demand, I think there would also be a demand for Harvey Nichols, Selfridges etc and all the other decent shops we don't have/can't support.

Its just a bubble, and people are speculating especially on city living. Anyone who was to buy a £500k flat in the centre would be sitting on a nice pile of negative equity within a year or 2 .......... in my opinion.

If anyone out there wants to swap a £500k Victorian house in the suburbs for a flat in the centre, please let me know and I will build you one.

Where have you got the £500k figure from? It seems just a little bit high for me.

You can get flats in Riverside Exchange for £120k, and the new Courts development opposite the Law Courts is advertising flats starting from £100k.

"But what about the entire facade of Pond Street (Roxy, Car Park, Greasy Spoon/Charity Shops etc.)? It's a mess! I've spoken to many people who feel that it should be completely rennovated, but I have to admit I think the best thing would be to start again i.e. get rid of it. Build a new city library / centre for the people...with tunnels linking it to the galleries etc...give it a gleaming glass front and huge escalators criss-crossing its face. Or something. Modernism lives (in my mind).
Ditto the back-end of Castle Market (Wilkos etc.), which is an eyesore when seen from the train. Harder one to deal with that, cos I guess it is the market..."

Replacing Pond Street with some modernist buildings - why? it is modernism already and even nice facades what it needs is some kind of change of use. the biggest problem is that roxy etc with their fabulous tile facades are just empty...
tunnels - noooo! don't repeat the mistakes of the 60s!

Some parts yes, some parts no!!
It seems the council have now taken a "proactive" stance in stead of a "just get something built" way of the past.
How long has work been carried out on & around the station / pond street?
Things are improving, & we can't turn back the clocks. Sheffield needs to move forward, & not wish it was leeds!!
Sheffield has the highest retention of graduates than any other university city, so something must be good!!

Just recieved a copy of the Sheffield Development Framework newsletter, It's going to look good (for a while) but you wont be able to get there unless you use public transport!!!!!!!!:loopy:
& they want everybody to live in apartments near to work so they can walk/ cycle or use public transport:loopy:
Sounds like it's back to the sixties if you ask me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haha!

Kipper seems to want the students to come here for three years then leave as soon as they get jobs and are eligible to start paying council tax!

:hihi:

i came to sheffield about ten years ago and over the next few years there was a real regeneration but ive noticed that recently it seems to have taken a massive step back.loads of empty premises in west street again...loads of half completed projects.for instance the student flats near the leadmill where the old bus station used to be.theyve been up for ages but the preserved brick gate structure is still a complete unfinished mess whats all that about?

Regarding relocation of the markets complex to a site near The Moor.
I understand that Wilkinsons Hardware Store is holding up the relocation.
They have a long term lease on the old Woolco/Dunnes shop and are reluctant to leave because they do quite well there.
The Council aren't investing in the area at all because they want to move and invest in a new complex as do most of the market traders.

There was a piece in the Star last week about the siting of the new markets on The Moor. It seems they are to be built in conjuction with new student apartments and a multi-storey car park in an area bounded by The Moor, Eyre street, Cumbernauld street and Earl street.

So just as much on the periphery of the city's shopping centre as the site they currently occupy. Developers will be a company called RREEF but I haven't yet found any plans or 'visuslisations'. Apparently this development company hold the whole of the Moor on long lease from the council, so are presumably involved in whatever is going at the McDonalds site ?

The Star also reported there is now agreement on the redevelopment of the old markets area and it's likely to be 'mixed use' rather than purely retail, which I suppose implies more apartment blocks.

I love Sheffield. Nice compact centre, range of bars, although city centre restaurant selection is poor, shopping is not great but it stops me spending. I came here 12 years ago and it really was a loveable dump; now it is a vibrant and exciting city. Travel out to the shops, bars and restaurants in the local communities and you will start to enjoy it. Avoid West Street and surrounding areas at night and it looks much brighter. Spent the weekend in vibrant leeds last week. Dirty, noisy, aggressive, purse robbed, got bad food poisoning, late bars were dreadful. Shopping good and has a fab meal on the first night. Football ground is a shed. Stop moaning and appreciate this wonderful city, the fab location and the wonderful people. Or move to bloody Leeds or Manchester.

I love Sheffield........erm but not the stupid blocked off roads and one way streets. :)

Just need to sort out the scum that crawls our streets and we'll have a better city.