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A popular Sheffield shopping precinct could be covered by a huge canopy as it adapts to a new environment.

Orchard Square wants to install a canopy to provide weather protection so markets and events can be held at any time of the year. It would be suspended on wires and ‘demountable’ to stop it creating ‘more shade than is desirable’, an application to Sheffield City Council states.

The owners of the square also want to install more than a dozen awnings above shops to ‘add colour and visual interest’ and provide protection. They add: "The proposed awnings and canopies will be a welcoming addition to Orchard Square and the town centre as part of the applicants’ continued commitment to improving the environment in the square as the centre adapts towards a more leisure-oriented environment.”

Retailers Fat Face, Schuh and Clarks Shoes are among those that have left within the last two years. The city council has already shown it is keen on the plan by earmarking £750,000 of public money from the Future High Streets Fund to help pay for the scheme.

Orchard Square could look very different under a canopy

Orchard Square is seen as a key link between Fargate, Leopold Street and - through the TK Maxx store - the Cathedral Quarter.

Robin Hughes of Hallamshire Historic Buildings said the proposal would restore a more traditional appearance and provide protection from climate change.

He added: “Canopies and awnings used to be quite a feature of shopping streets in general, and there were some good ones on Fargate. These were of a more permanent kind, and perhaps it’s time to reinstate some of them, but fabric awnings also used to be the norm.

“Climate change means that we have to learn to live with more extremes of both sun and rain, and there will be a need to provide more shelter for shoppers, as other countries used to it being hot or wet already do.”

Various styles of canopy are being considered. Meanwhile, more than a dozen shops would have awnings.

There was a strong case for giving more attention to shopfronts in general, he added.

In January, Orchard Square owner, London Associated Properties, said as well as a covered events space it planned to create 13 flats from empty shops and public money was necessary to make it viable.

Orchard Square Sheffield: Plan for huge canopy over shopping centre to allow outdoor events in all weathers

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