Sheffield student hotspot Broomhill has recently been named as the region's favourite place to live, but businesses in the area are concerned that may not be the case for long.

Broomhill is a popular student location, neighbouring the University of Sheffield campus and its student accommodation. Movers into the area are rising by 24% year on year, according to Compare My Move data, which cites that the demand for homes in the area exceeds the rest of the city.

However, Broomhill’s current status as Sheffield’s most popular location could soon find itself at risk if it loses some of it’s most popular stores which students and families have relied on for years.

Earlier this week, the owner of Good Taste, Jenny Coleman, told us their bills catapulted from £1,600 last year to £5,975. She also grimly predicted that the high streets of Sheffield could soon find themselves full of empty stores if nothing changes in the coming months to help small businesses in the community.

With that in mind, we spent the day in Broomhill and discovered that Jenny is not alone in feeling concerned about the future of her small business and the area as a whole. Martin Greaves, a staff member at family run store, Williamson Hardware, told The Star: “We’ve experienced challenges across the board with pretty much everything you can think of.

“It’s been tough. Especially when rent increases at the same time as fuel prices. Unfortunately, we’ve had to put prices up in the store. We try not to when we can but that’s just what we’ve had to do to keep going.”

Martin explained that he doesn’t feel small businesses like his own have received enough support in recent years. He said that he was really disappointed at the councils decision to shut down the car park in Broomhill during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Williamson Hardware has experienced a series of challenges due to the rise in business costs. | Iconic Media Group

placeholder image — Williamson Hardware has experienced a series of challenges due to the rise in business costs. | Iconic Media Group

“They took all the free parking away from our customers and have never brought it back.,” he added. “This means that at the same time as dealing with rising bills, we’re also losing passing trade which is a massive blow. “

Complaints about the closure of the car park in Broomhill have been echoed by Charles Brooks shoe shop owner Dean Oldfield. He said: “It’s really frustrating as we’ve had customers tell us that they are coming in a lot less due to the poor parking situation. All they need to do is open that car park back up and Broomhill will start to get busy again. It used to be a lovely little area.”

Dean Oldfield, the owner of Charles Brooks, says his business is getting less customers due to a lack of parking in the area. | Iconic Media Group - Kurt Leyland

Dean admitted that he has decided to keep the business open an extra day on Sunday in an effort to try and pay for the extra bills that are coming in.

He explained: “The rent keeps going up . The cost of the shoe stock and materials keep increasing.If our bills go up any more I don’t know how we’re going to get the money.

“You can't get mud from a stone, it’s impossible. I do start to worry about the future of Broomhill’s shopping scene. Nearby we’ve got two big shops empty, and even some of the charity shops are closing which says something.”

Oxfam charity shop worker Alan Dilley voiced similar concerns about the rising costs to run the business. “We simply carry on, but it’s all out of our hands,” he explained.

However, he is confident that Broomhill will continue to remain a hot spot for visitors due to the areas ability to cater to a variety of different demographics.

“I think as an area it is ever changing. There’s always going to be some concerns,” he added. “People said years ago that all the high streets were going to close and some did, but here we have such a mix of people. Families, students, dentists, doctors, there is such a variety,” he explained.

“It’s not too dissimilar to Ecclesall Road. It’s got everything here, places to go, places to eat, to shop. Broomhill has always been popular for a reason. It always has been since the 1800s and hopefully it will continue to be.”