Sheffield Council has announced they are in need of an extra £5 million to complete the Sheffield Castle regeneration project.
The Gateway to Sheffield regeneration project was announced in 2021 and aimed to turn the existing ‘sea of concrete’ that was Castlegate into a thriving and connected area of the city.
Principal development officer, Lucie Lorente- Annua, at a meeting of Sheffield City Council’s Transport, regeneration and climate policy committee on April 30, said: “This will provide a place making catalyst in terms of economic, environmental and social elements.”
The budget of this project was initially forecast to be £21 million but due to complex redesign issues regarding introducing an eight metre high tiered element, the budget has been forced to increase.
Castlegate is known as an area of anti-social behaviour, retreating retail and vacant land in the heart of Sheffield, however the completion of this ‘grey to green initiative’ is hoping to provide a significant event space, exhibit the archaeology found and create another green area for Sheffield’s community.
Green party councillor for Gleadless Valley, Alexi diamond, said: “Green space will be key to ensuring the health and wellbeing of the projected 20,000 new residents and existing city centre residents.”
This project is hoping to celebrate the historical archaeological beauty of Sheffield’s history, found in the site where one of the biggest castles in Northern Europe once stood.
Councillor Lorente-Annua, said: “This is a story of how a medieval castle became a thriving and industrial city in the north of England.”
This initiative has created huge interest at local, regional and national levels, with one notable goal of the project being to introduce a fish pass containing salmon in the River Sheaf which will flow alongside the new development.
Civil engineering student at Sheffield University, Charlotte Jones,19, said: “Sheffield castle has been a derelict site for many years now and the update of the design plan will satisfy many age ranges.”
The inspiration for this project stemmed from the success of similar ‘grey to green’ regeneration works including the restoration of Kelham Island.
Despite high support levels for this scheme, the increasing costs has caused its completion date to be postponed from February 2026 to the end of 2026.