Sheffield Container Park: Insider at operator SteelYard blasts "ridiculous" delays and "awful" experience installing Fargate attraction

The insider, with knowledge of operator SteelYard Kelham, said the “ridiculous” hunt for a power point cost £20,000 and took three weeks. Other expenses included £70,000 for ‘staging and levelling’ of eight containers on a sloping site on Fargate, chosen by Sheffield City Council. Moving the location 6ft cost a further £70,000 after Yorkshire Water - which had not been consulted - warned it could collapse one of the city’s biggest sewers. And a diesel generator was costing £20,000-a-month, not £10,000 as stated by the authority. There were also delays in the council paying SteelYard, which put the firm under pressure, the insider said.

Container Park was supposed to open in July offering street food, bars and shops. It partially opened in October - and must be removed by the end of February when total spend will be about £600,000, double the original £300,000 estimate. Speaking out for the first time, the insider said: “It’s been a complete mess from start to finish. There were delays from day one that had a massive knock-on effect as vendors and contractors fell away. Yorkshire Water was furious it wasn’t consulted but we were told to just ‘crack on’ with the groundworks. They put a hard stop on it in late May. Moving it a few feet was like going back to square one.

“In early August we started digging for a power point. After three goes we found ducting but no cable. Someone had taken it out without telling us. It was ridiculous.”

Earlier this month, plans for an upstairs bar were abandoned due to a lack of paperwork, including a fire certificate from SteelYard. The insider said they had assumed documents used on similar developments “up and down the country” would be acceptable. But by then the £25,000 required to get it ready, and shortened trading period, would have been “financial suicide”. Both sides agree it has been a success for the traders, but overall it had been an “awful experience”, the insider said.

They added: “The traders are winning and it’s a brilliant idea but it’s in the wrong place. The delays have had such an impact. We’ve still got a relationship with the council but it is very frayed.” SteelYard also believed it would have a year on Fargate. Being told to be out by March to make way for redevelopment was a “bombshell”. The firm is also concerned that a new location has yet to be announced since the process of moving it - including planning permission - takes three months.

“They have not learned lessons, there’s no urgency and that risks a re-run of the whole thing. I think some people would prefer it in storage where it is out of sight.” Keeping containers in a dry warehouse would cost £4,000-a-month, they added. A Sheffield City Council spokeswoman confirmed they did not consult Yorkshire Water because it was a “temporary site”. But SteelYard was told “before contracts were signed” when the development would be moved. Planning permission was granted on March 12 for up to 12 months. Discussions on a new site were at an “advanced stage,” she added. Ben Brailsford, lead on the container development at Sheffield City Council, said there had been “a lot of complications and misunderstandings" that caused "delays, extra costs and scaling down of the original concept.” But he was confident it would be a success in its next location.

He said: “Sheffielders are ambitious, and we want to keep up with that ambition and make our city centre the best it can be. The concept of the Container Park was to support the revival of Fargate, our local economy and provide opportunities for independent businesses following the impact of the pandemic, which resulted in reduced footfall and empty retail units. The idea was exciting and the reaction and subsequent disappointment shows how much people wanted it. “The planned work for Fargate will transform the area, but until then we couldn’t just sit and wait and allow further decline. We had secured grant funding which could be used only for city centre development, and we saw this as an exciting opportunity. But exciting concepts don’t come without risks, and if we want growth, we have to take some risks and try new things. “With this scheme we have come up against a lot of complications and misunderstandings that have caused delays, extra costs and scaling down of the original concept. Of course, this is not what we had planned for, expected or wanted to happen, but we’ve learned an awful lot, and we can take that and use it to make sure this scheme thrives going forward.

“We always knew it would be a temporary addition to Fargate, that we’d have to make way for the major Future High Streets Fund development, so we’ll be relocating the Container Park in the spring. “We’re in advanced stages of agreeing a new location, but before that happens, we’re completing a thorough assessment of all the options to make sure the new site offers the very best for the future of this scheme.

“Despite all the issues we’ve had along the way, it has been successful. The businesses on site, who’ve been amazing, are doing well and we’re really grateful for their hard work and patience. “We’re confident that in the right place, with the right infrastructure the Container Park will be a fantastic permanent feature that will continue to grow, attracting more investment, supporting more independent traders and bringing more vibrancy to Sheffield. We’re working hard now to establish the next steps and will provide an update very soon.”