Historic Sheffield street Chapel Walk getting back 'on its feet' says business boss
Firms working together on historic Sheffield shopping area
Millions have been spent on trying to bring Sheffield’s historic Chapel Walk back to its former glory.
And now businesses have told of their optimism, amid talk working together and emulating fashionable parts of the city like Leah’s Yard.
Alex Wilson, who has just opened a record shop on the street, which has been subject to millions of pounds in regeneration money in the last few years, says the narrow road is well and truly getting back on its feet with collaborations in the pipeline.
Mr Wilson says businesses are working together to make the area a success, and he believes that the street could emulate Leah’s Yard, which has become a trendy Sheffield hub.
Nearby, Juno Books co-owner Sarah Scales agrees, says more people are now using Chapel Walk, and is also open to more collaborations with other businesses on the historic street.
Other recent developments have seen celebrity Ben Fogle open an office for his clothing brand, Buffalo, on the street, where he has been seen.in person.
And a club on the street, Gut Level, has just received a boost which is expected to secure its future, through a community organisation buying the building in which it is based as part of a project to preserve music venues.
Sheffield Council has in the past described Chapel Walk as a busy, historic thoroughfare in the city centre, and has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds trying to breathe new life into it.
In March, it was announced that the outdoor clothing company Buffalo was opened a design studio there, after the company was bought by television personality Ben Fogle.
Last year, the sandwich shop Feast re-opened on Chapel Walk.
In 2024, Sheffield City Council announced it would put up £250,000 for a revamp of properties owned by the Church Burgesses Trust.
The project restored eight shop fronts and first floor offices in the Howard Building. The record shop is the first of those to be filled.
However, some sites still remain empty.
Other than the newly refurbished units, two others remain empty - the former Samaritans shop, and the former Phone Extras site.
There are still empty shops in other parts of the city centre. For instance, the former H&M shop, and the former O2 shop, both on Fargate, remain empty. There are also empty sites on Barker’s Pool, such as the former Barclays Bank.
Sarah Scales has been running a book shop on Chapel Walk for four years - and she agrees things are looking better for Chapel Walk.
She said: “It now looks so much better than it did when we first moved in 2022. Now the work on Fargate is finished, it feels like things are more on an even keel and we’re seeing an increase in footfall. I think it has the potential to be a really fantastic street again.”
She agreed it would be good to see a similar profile to Leah’s Yard, and thought the street would benefit from a nice wine bar.
She said she was pleased to see new businesses arrive recently, and was looking forward to more of the recently refurbished units being let after the opening of Memory Dance and Buffalo.