Sponsored by
£91,500 of public money used to build 'gimmick' office slide
A HEADLINE-grabbing helter skelter installed inside a private office building in Sheffield was paid for with £91,500 of taxpayers' money, The Star can today exclusively reveal.
Members of the public are not allowed to use the custom-built 85-foot slide – a quirky shortcut to the ground floor from the top of the Electric Works building in the city centre – on "health and safety" grounds.
READ MORE: Residents question 91,500 cost of 'publicity stunt'
But a request submitted under The Freedom of Information Act has unearthed the true cost to the public purse of the slide which was featured in newspapers and on TV stations around the world.
Today Sheffield Council defended the funding of the slide.
Coun Sylvia Dunkley, cabinet member for enterprise and employment, said: "The decision to include a slide in the building's design was taken before our time as the administration.
"However, the sheer amount of positive international publicity it has generated means the decision to include the slide has paid off."
But attention attracted by the building, part of the 'e-campus' near the bus station, has failed to translate into many tenants – with just 20 per cent of offices currently occupied.
And one former Sheffield businesswoman, who now works for a charity, said she was angry so much money had been spent on a 'gimmick' instead of on projects to benefit the city.
"Public money totalling 91,500, just to install a giant helter-skelter, seems such a waste," she said. "I wonder how many people have actually used it, and the cost per ride?
"This idea seems to have been dreamed up by people sitting around a table using 'blue sky thinking' when that money could have been used to help small businesses with their costs."
Electric Works opened in March and is currently home to just a small number of companies, including high-tech design firms. It is one of five buildings planned for the area to attract high-tech firms.
At the time of opening, the helter-skelter was described as a "statement about risk-taking".
Toby Hyam, of Creative Space Management which runs the building on behalf of Sheffield Council, said: "If you are having a meeting with a client, and people are whizzing past, it will be memorable."
Yorkshire Forward, which developed Electric Works with Sheffield Council and private firm Scarborough Developments, made the decision to invest taxpayers' money on the slide.
David Custance, the regional development agency's assistant director of urban renaissance and property, admitted Health and Safety regulations "prevent the general public from using the helter skelter on a day-to-day basis".
But he insisted: "The helter skelter is an exciting, unusual and contemporary feature in the three-story atrium, differentiating the building and achieving international interest. The Electric Works helps position Sheffield as a location for innovative digital businesses."
Asked why only a fifth of the office space has been rented out, he said: "The building has achieved 20 per cent of the available space committed and has enquiries for a further 20 per cent of the available space and conference booking, in what is an extremely difficult marketplace."
He said an open day is being planned for the summer for members of the public who wish to try out the helter skelter.
What do you think? Add your comment below.
Buy The Star - Monday to Saturday - for local news, sport, features and ads. To subscribe CLICK HERE
READ MORE
Main news index
Your letters
Features
South Yorkshire's environmental news
Kids Zone
More business news
More Rotherham news
More Doncaster news
More Barnsley news
Latest sport
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
