Sheffield city centre is a building site – but that’s because new things are happening

There are empty shops, homeless people begging on the streets, patched up pavements and it seems like fewer people.

I took a walk through the High Street and Castlegate areas this week and there are sights that would make you weep.

But that’s only part of the picture – it’s not all bad. There is hope, and there are parts of town that actually seem to be thriving.

There are literally signs of new life. Angel Street is full of barriers and trenches at the moment as part of the grey to green project but that will bring natural colour to replace the bland paved streets – perfect for our outdoor city. It’s transformed the area around West Bar and the courts and will really bring a new look to an area that has been struggling for years, especially since the market and Primark moved to The Moor.

Fitzalan Square has become a bustling area with Hallam University in what was the old post office building, the Fred Aldous arts and crafts shop and the Hygge coffee shop – all proving popular with visitors.

We all know that High Street has seen better times, but news that Lidl is to move into the Sports Direct store can only be a good thing, and work to turn Telegraph House into a new restaurant is set to be complete this coming week. And whatever your thoughts on the Glory Holes adult golf ‘experience’, it’s another example of a new business coming into town and filling what was an empty property.

The city centre is something of a building site at the moment, and will be for several years to come.

But a building site means things are taking place, new places are being built and exciting new areas created. Pinstone Street and the area around the Coles building is being transformed as part of Heart of the City II including Leah’s Yard and the old Gaumont cinema. When the Radisson Blu hotel is completed it will transform the grand frontages which look out onto the Peace Gardens and create a new destination for tourists and business people in our city.

Fargate is also seeing the reconstruction of the old Next store with work hopefully starting on the Event Central project across the road from M&S very soon. The plans to turn Fargate into a cultural hub give a great opportunity to transform what was once the bustling centre of the shopping area into something new.

These are just a few examples of how the city is being transformed.

Of course, there’s lots to work on, and the problems Sheffield faces are by no means unique to the Steel City. But there’s plenty to get excited about as we look to do things differently. It’s easy to be nostalgic about what was once there but it’s time to look with hope at what Sheffield can be in the years to come.

• Read Chris Holt’s alternative view: ‘It will take more than a Lidl to lift gloomy Sheffield High Street’