Fargate: Contractors Sisk give progress report on first anniversary of 'complex' £33m upgrade

Contractors revamping a once premium Sheffield street have given an update ahead of the first anniversary of work starting.

John Sisk & Son began refurbishing Fargate on April 17 last year and the firm says it is now about one third of the way through the job. It is set by the end of February 2025.

The firm responded after readers queried the pace of progress on The Star’s Facebook page.

Mark Wagner said: “I'm assuming the contractor is being paid by the hour. It's been going on for far too long with little progress. It must be affecting business for all of those shops.”

Joanne Ferguson referred to other problems facing the city’s once premier shopping parade: “The contractors need to crack on with the job. Last time I was in town there was only one doorway open into Boots, with several people lying next to the entrance, further reducing the entrance into the shop.”

Lee Long, project manager at contractors John Sisk & Son, said work had been complex but progress had been “steady.”

“Work began in Sheffield on 17 April 2023. Progress has been steady, we’re approximately one third of the way through and we’re still projected to finish the work in winter 24/25. As with all city centre schemes, work has been complex, with the discovery of some unmapped services and the underground subway at the junction of Fargate and High Street. 

“We expect challenging conditions on these types of schemes and have worked in partnership with Sheffield Council to overcome any difficulties. We have approximately thirty members of staff working on the Fargate element of the scheme, plus subcontractors who complete site-specific tasks.”

Fargate is having new paving flags, flower beds, plants, benches and bins. Concrete anti-terror blocks will be removed and close-packed rows of anti-terror bollards are being installed.

This week, builders were busy in several separate, fenced-off ‘pockets’ - from the town hall to Church Street - including outside Marks and Spencer and Boots.

The project is funded in part by the Government’s Future High Streets Fund. Sheffield City Council secured £15.8m in December 2020. In November last year it said costs had more than doubled to £33.6m due to inflation.

The fund is also paying for a £7m cultural hub in a former shop at 20-26 Fargate. A builder has been chosen but work cannot start until Sisk has finished the revamp.