Cost of Sheffield Castlegate project celebrating city birthplace rising by £6m

The regeneration of the Castlegate area will see the ruins of Sheffield Castle become a focal point of a park that will tell the story of the city’s early history. Hundreds of Sheffielders have visited or taken part in the castle excavation, run by Wessex Archaeology.

Sheffield City Council’s finance committee will next Wednesday (June 19) be asked to rubber-stamp the increased budget for the scheme. It is attributed to the recent big rise in the cost of construction work and the complex nature of the site, which includes major archaeological works and deculverting part of the River Sheaf.

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A report to the committee adds that the increase reflects the assumptions that had to be made on limited information when the council applied for government Levelling Up funding in 2021, plus “the high level of aspirations and vision for the site from both the city council and the stakeholders involved in helping to shape the project”.

The updated cost has already been met by an increase of Levelling Up money to £15.1m in total, £4.55m Gainshare devolution funding from South Yorkshire mayoral authority and a £100,000 contribution by the Environment Agency.

As well as the new park, the plan for the area includes the creation of several plots that will be available for redevelopment. The report to the committee says that there is already significant interest in a number of these.