Fargate: Contractors Sisk respond to concerns revamp of Sheffield street has dramatically slowed

Contractors have given an update on a multi-million pound revamp of Sheffield’s premium street following concerns about a lack of progress.

Contractors Sisk say they are about a third of the way through an upgrade of Fargate, with works outside the Town Hall ‘projected for completion’ this winter.

But finishing the entire project could take up to another year - in ‘winter 2024/2025’.

The company responded after historian Aidan Stones posted: "Walked up Fargate yesterday and it was difficult to see any progress in the last three months."

A spokesman for Sisk said: "There are currently 25 people working on site. We have recently completed and opened a significant area of the permanent works adjacent to Leopold Street."

The revamp of Fargate 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 it had more than doubled to £33.6m due to inflation.

The FHSF is also paying for a £7m cultural hub in a former six-storey former shop at 20-26 Fargate.

Event Central will have a live music space in the basement, workshops on the ground, first and second floors, and offices on the third and fourth floors.

But builders Willmott Dixon said they won’t be on site until January 2025, after the revamp of Fargate has finished.