Sheffield Container Park Fargate: Workmen move in to remove controversial structure

The structure, a retail and food park made up of steel shipping containers, has now been fenced off with temporary six foot high steel barriers, behind which people in hard hats and high visibility vests could be seen getting on with the work, today.

Notices have been attached to the fencing warning the public to keep out, and telling visitors to report to the site office. The sound of drilling and power tools could be heard from some of the containers on the upper level.

Workers on the site also appeared to be removing wiring from the units, as well as taking down various fittings. Scaffolding has been put up on some parts of the site, with metal scaffolding poles also still lying on the ground inside the cordoned-off area. There are also now several skips within the fencing.

It is understood that the workers have moved on site to start taking it away this week. But the whole process of removing the structure is expected to go on for several weeks.

The last of the businesses left the controversial development on Sunday January 29, although all had already stopped trading from the site at the top of Fargate by that point.

At that stage, officials said removal was likely to take up to six weeks. But it was said that the site must be clear from March to make way for a revamp of Fargate.

Container Park was supposed to open in July 2022, offering street food, bars and shops. It partially opened in October and by the time it is removed total spend on the scheme will be about £600,000 – double the original £300,000 estimate.

One boss whose business left the site at the end of January after spending weeks trading at the site said they had broken even during their time at the container park, but felt that his brand, the Clapping Seoul Korean food takeaway, had benefitted from the exposure its location provided.

But most of the shoppers who spoke to The Star said they would not miss the site, some calling it an ‘eyesore’.

Coun Terry Fox, leader of Sheffield Council said last month: “Obviously this project hasn’t been our finest hour. But what I don’t want it to do is extinguish our appetite for ambition for this city.”