Sheffield Retail Quarter (ex-"Sevenstone") MEGATHREAD

[Cyclone 10]

Mod Note:

 

Lets not, and say you did.

 

Thanks.

 

Any particular reason the threads can't actually be merged? Instead of just killing the ongoing discussion in the other one?

[Vegas1 10]

Hopefully I have got it going again Cyclone.

[E-Man Groovin 27]

Yeah, back to the content.

 

Some questions:

 

How are they going to "attract more people to the city centre"? The answer seems to be "by building the new retail quarter".

 

But will retailers invest in a city centre that seems to have no pull currently?

 

And even if they do, after the novelty has worn off, will the footfall and expenditure remain? As an example consider the Moor market. The grand predictions didn't quite materialise.

 

I'm not asking these questions to be awkward, just to be sure that we're not getting another grand failure (Sevenstone, Don Valley Stadium, Sheftival, etc.)

 

Are there alternatives to this particular mode of resuscitating the city centre? Hell yes! Have they been considered? Or is this only way as far as our leaders are concerned?

 

"Attracting new and larger retailers provides a number of benefits. More visitors are attracted to the city centre, meaning more money is spent in the local economy. This benefits all businesses and helps to create jobs. More occupied retail space will also generate more income through business rates. More money can then be raised to fund improvements to the city centre, including enhancing our public spaces."

 

Retail <expletive> jobs. Is this the limit of our ambition?

[truman 10]

Yeah, back to the content.

 

Some questions:

 

How are they going to "attract more people to the city centre"? The answer seems to be "by building the new retail quarter".

 

But will retailers invest in a city centre that seems to have no pull currently?

 

And even if they do, after the novelty has worn off, will the footfall and expenditure remain? As an example consider the Moor market. The grand predictions didn't quite materialise.

 

I'm not asking these questions to be awkward, just to be sure that we're not getting another grand failure (Sevenstone, Don Valley Stadium, Sheftival, etc.)

 

Are there alternatives to this particular mode of resuscitating the city centre? Hell yes! Have they been considered? Or is this only way as far as our leaders are concerned?

 

"Attracting new and larger retailers provides a number of benefits. More visitors are attracted to the city centre, meaning more money is spent in the local economy. This benefits all businesses and helps to create jobs. More occupied retail space will also generate more income through business rates. More money can then be raised to fund improvements to the city centre, including enhancing our public spaces."

 

Retail <expletive> jobs. Is this the limit of our ambition?

 

Chicken and egg isn't it? To get "proper" jobs then you have to attract the "proper" companies..part of doing this will lie with the attractiveness of the area you're trying to get the companies to relocate to/invest in...

[ubermaus 10]

Yeah, back to the content.

 

Some questions:

 

How are they going to "attract more people to the city centre"? The answer seems to be "by building the new retail quarter".

 

But will retailers invest in a city centre that seems to have no pull currently?

 

And even if they do, after the novelty has worn off, will the footfall and expenditure remain? As an example consider the Moor market. The grand predictions didn't quite materialise.

 

I'm not asking these questions to be awkward, just to be sure that we're not getting another grand failure (Sevenstone, Don Valley Stadium, Sheftival, etc.)

 

Are there alternatives to this particular mode of resuscitating the city centre? Hell yes! Have they been considered? Or is this only way as far as our leaders are concerned?

 

"Attracting new and larger retailers provides a number of benefits. More visitors are attracted to the city centre, meaning more money is spent in the local economy. This benefits all businesses and helps to create jobs. More occupied retail space will also generate more income through business rates. More money can then be raised to fund improvements to the city centre, including enhancing our public spaces."

 

Retail <expletive> jobs. Is this the limit of our ambition?

 

Why not subsudies? I mean the only way you are going to attract people to live and work in the centre is to make it really easy for businesses to start up and employ people.

[E-Man Groovin 27]

Chicken and egg isn't it? To get "proper" jobs then you have to attract the "proper" companies..part of doing this will lie with the attractiveness of the area you're trying to get the companies to relocate to/invest in...

 

You're certainly correct about the chicken & egg bit. I hope that by 'proper jobs' you're referring to the world away from retail; that is digital, science, finance etc.

 

I'm not sure that gleaming retail in the vicinity is the main pull for such companies. I give you the example of Silicon Roundabout in London. Before I came up to Sheffield (2002), Old Street was still a bit dilapidated, bohemian trendy, Shoreditch and all that.

 

It was more the hipness of the area and the pull it exerted towards young, educated, creative and technical types, that subsequently caused the likes of Google and others to set up shop there. As well as good transport links etc.

 

Gleaming retail signposts a bit of a lack of imagination in my opinion.

[ubermaus 10]

One thing I really like about the plans is the extension of Fargate. Sheffield has always lacked a long enough shopping-street, a vocal point for all shoppers.

 

Pedestrianising pinstone st? Be good in summer and attracting tourists. Cafes etc.

[DnAuK 10]

You're certainly correct about the chicken & egg bit. I hope that by 'proper jobs' you're referring to the world away from retail; that is digital, science, finance etc.

 

I'm not sure that gleaming retail in the vicinity is the main pull for such companies. I give you the example of Silicon Roundabout in London. Before I came up to Sheffield (2002), Old Street was still a bit dilapidated, bohemian trendy, Shoreditch and all that.

 

It was more the hipness of the area and the pull it exerted towards young, educated, creative and technical types, that subsequently caused the likes of Google and others to set up shop there. As well as good transport links etc.

 

Gleaming retail signposts a bit of a lack of imagination in my opinion.

 

I'm hoping that's what the new shiny offices will attract - like the one at St Paul's place.

 

Talking of which, development does seem to attract people. How long have the units under 2 St Pauls place been empty? Yet as soon as number 3 starts to emerge they all fill up.

 

On that basis though, and given how long that development will take to complete, you have to assume the rumours about the Moor development being delayed for a year are true. After all, they haven't even got out of the ground yet!

[E-Man Groovin 27]

I'm hoping that's what the new shiny offices will attract - like the one at St Paul's place.

 

Talking of which, development does seem to attract people. How long have the units under 2 St Pauls place been empty? Yet as soon as number 3 starts to emerge they all fill up.

 

On that basis though, and given how long that development will take to complete, you have to assume the rumours about the Moor development being delayed for a year are true. After all, they haven't even got out of the ground yet!

 

Nothing untrue in your post.

 

However I think that we might be thinking on different scales.

 

As I said in the other (now closed thread here) shouldn't we be thinking bigger than this? Remember our 4th/5th UK city position - our ambitions should reflect that. St Paul's is nice, but it's small. It wouldn't look out of place in Chesterfield.

 

Can we not think bigger and more imaginatively about this development? Create something that'll make the whole country take note.

 

The way I see it if a city becomes a really interesting place to live work and play (not just another retail mall - who goes to a city coz it's got a nice mall?) then you'll attract/retain the creative, the educated, the technical. If you attract such folk, then you'll also attract big companies (a "marquee signing" in footballing terms). Do that and you might see a much bigger snowball effect on quite a different scale to St Pauls?

 

FFS if four kids from High Green could grab the attention of the world (that's the Arctic Monkeys), I'm sure that a more distributed (rather than top-down) approach to the new city centre plans could create something really interesting

 

There are some great things happening - the Advanced Manufacturing thing, Roco, Electric Works and Urban Splash. Let's keep the focus on interesting, rather than simply shiny and new.

 

Humble opinion and all that of course.

[Jonny5 10]

What would be awesome and a great draw would be viewing platforms on the top of some of the larger buildings.

 

Really missed a trick not putting one on top of St Pauls. Because of the geography around the centre and because it sits in a basin you can see for miles from up there. Shame that no-one ever gets to see that view.

[Vegas1 10]

What would be awesome and a great draw would be viewing platforms on the top of some of the larger buildings.

 

Really missed a trick not putting one on top of St Pauls. Because of the geography around the centre and because it sits in a basin you can see for miles from up there. Shame that no-one ever gets to see that view.

 

Just follow someone into the Q-Park next door and go up to the top level.

[Jonny5 10]

Just follow someone into the Q-Park next door and go up to the top level.

That's not quite the cafe/dining area experience that I had in mind