Sheffield Council reveals plans for Events Central city centre music venue with exhibition space

The local authority revealed details of a project to repair, refurbish and re-clad a vacant five-storey building at 20-26 Fargate and transform it into Events Central which will be let to businesses and split evenly for commercial and community uses.

It would comprise a new 200 person standing music venue in the basement with other uses including an exhibition area, a bookshop, a juice bar, a tourist information point as well as co-working and makers’ spaces on other levels.

Funding comes from the £15.8 million given to Sheffield from the government’s Future High Streets Fund, following a bid supported by the University of Sheffield.

In a statement provided with the plans, HLM Architects, on behalf of the council, said: “Sheffield City Council wishes to develop an exciting, community cultural hub building which also supports and offers additional opportunities to utilise the external events space.

“The intention is to provide a part community, part commercial offering that will act as a blueprint and catalyst for further regeneration of Fargate.

“The proposals contained within this report are currently being developed with Sheffield City council and ARUP with the aim of delivering high quality events, leisure and co-working space.”

The local authority said it could replace infrastructure that supports Fargate events such as the Christmas Market as the daily cost is currently “exorbitant”.

It would be built with sustainability and the climate crisis in mind – proposals so far include being an electric only building with solar panels on the roof – and the project is on track to receive an excellent status by BREEAM standards, HLM Architects said.

The council acquired the building, built in the late 1800s, in 2021 as it was standing empty “with many others” along Fargate in the aftermath of Covid-19 restrictions on businesses.

HLM Architects said the strategy is to refresh the building with minimal impact to the existing stone fabric and largely maintain the facade except at the ground and first floor levels which will be replaced with new triple glazed windows.

It added: “Initial informal conversations with the planning department took place on 04/10/21, where the scheme was praised for bringing back some of the lost grandeur to the facade. It was also noted at this meeting that the existing canopy is doing little to improve the street scene.”

Regeneration of Fargate

The council has a number of projects on the go to breathe life back into the city centre.

At the top of Fargate, a new attraction made out of shipping containers by local company Steel Yard Kelham will feature a big screen, cafes, toilets and shops.

This was already granted planning approval and it is expected to appear on the street in the coming weeks.

The University of Sheffield said these schemes for Fargate are expected to attract 110,680 visitors every year, of which 50 percent are assumed to be additional.

So far there are no comments from members of the public on this latest planning application.

To read the plans in full or comment visit: https://planningapps.sheffield.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=R9AOFONY0NH00