A commercial property development which many thought had fallen by the wayside will finally begin, but not until next spring.
The idea of a new and modern indoor market area on The Moor in Sheffield was first muted a good five or six years ago. However, there have been a number of delays and many, including those at the heart of the commercial property project, feared they would never see the master plan come to fruition.
The plan was and still is to move traders from Castle Market, in the centre of Sheffield, to The Moor.
The Moor is an area in the centre of Sheffield, which was once one of Sheffield’s busiest and vibrant retail areas. A website for the area says: ‘Few shopping thoroughfares in the country have so much history attached to them. Atkinsons, Sheffield’s oldest and most illustrious independent department store, has seen more than most – including the flattening of its majestic Victorian outlet in December 1940 at the hands of Hitler’s Luftwaffe.’
Following redevelopment of ‘t’Moor’, as the locals know it, in the 1960s the area has become run down and vacant, leaving commercial property in the area to crumble.
The Sheffield Telegraph reported last month that the much needed commercial property scheme is set to once again get moving. Saying: ‘A revised scheme for 200 stalls and six shops facing the precinct was approved by councillors, and a deal in principle was announced with the property arm of Scottish Widows, which is now being encouraged to redevelop other parts of the land it controls on and around The Moor. The upper part of the precinct is set to be revamped at the same time as the markets, with new paving, lighting and seats in line with the refurbishment that has already been carried out on the lower section.’
Sheffield City Council Leader, Julie Dore, said: ‘Things are really stepping up a gear.’ Despite this recent good news for the areas commercial property development, many locals are taking a, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it attitude.’ After so many false dawns let us hope this commercial property vision is at last realised.
