Plans to remove 'horrendous' cobbles and 'ugly' anti-terror blocks in Fargate revamp in Sheffield welcomed
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Bollards, smooth paving flags - and flower beds and bins - will be installed instead. The details were unveiled in a pop-in session organised by Sheffield City Council and featuring civil engineering contractor Sisk which is set to start early in 2023 and take up to 16 months.
Sisk project manager Lee Long said they would re-pave Fargate in strips lengthwise to maintain as much access to shops as possible. And up to 100 people would be working on the job.
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A council spokesman said smoother flags would be laid in place of cobbles and lines of anti-terror bollards installed at either end of Fargate and unpopular concrete blocks removed.
Heather Slater of Intake said: “It’s very good. But please consider carers and wheelchair users. The cobbles are horrendous, people in wheelchairs or buggies feel every bump.”
Another visitor said she approved of plans to encourage people to linger and welcomed new planting similar to the Grey to Green scheme at Castlegate.
Chris Cumberpatch said planting and storm drainage features ‘were standard now’ and he was more concerned about the loss of any more of the city’s Victorian architecture.
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Hide AdDan Mortimer said revamping The Moor had worked and Fargate needed a new identity.
Colleague Gemma Barnes said Fargate did not need a Tesco Express, which is set to open in the former New Look unit, which is owned by the council. But it did need to be attractive to lure not just shoppers but investors too.
Sheffield City Council received £15.8m from the Future High Streets Fund for Fargate and High Street. A big chunk of that was spent buying a five-storey building at number 20-26 which is set to be used for events.
Fargate is one of the most important areas of the city but has suffered many shop closures in recent years. A Sheffield City Council spokesman said: “Thanks to a successful bid, supported by the University of Sheffield, the area is soon to be reinvented as a social hub in the city centre.”