Fargate: Controversial Sheffield Container Park will have to move to make way for building work

The home for independent retailers that was meant to open in July but finally got going just a few weeks ago is set to face more disruption as the site will be taken over when building work gets under way on the new Event Central music venue.

The news was revealed at Sheffield City Council’s finance sub-committee during a report into progress on the Future High Street Fund that is bringing investment and regeneration to the Fargate and High Street area of the city centre.

The project, set up with £15.8 million of government funding plus £5m from the council, has financed the purchase of the former Clinton Cards shop on Fargate that will be converted into a six-storey “vibrant cultural community hub” including the music venue, an exhibition area, juice bar and co-working spaces.

Event Central is currently being advertised on behalf of the council by Sheffield commercial property company Colloco to find an operator to run it.

Cllr Joe Otten asked: “I think Event Central is a great scheme, I’m supporting it. Am I right in thinking that the work site for Event Central is what the controversial Container Park has to move for the benefit of, that slippage of the Event Central may leave the Container Park in place for a little bit longer?

‘Complete eyesore’

“Is the city aware that when the Container Park goes – some people think it is a complete eyesore – there’ll be something in there that is a complete eyesore, because there’ll be a work site for the Event Central, and can that not go somewhere else, using some of the empty space on Fargate?”

Principal development officer Matt Hayman said the work compound has to go at the top of Fargate. He added: “We are looking for alternative sites for the containers and hopefully there’ll be some update on that shortly.”

He thought the Container Park would move in March or April, a job that would take an estimated four weeks to complete.

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