Letter: State of the city centre

This letter sent to the Star was written by Rose Anne Sly, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27
Castlegate area of SheffieldCastlegate area of Sheffield
Castlegate area of Sheffield

I have just returned home after a visit to Sheffield to at last catch up with lovely relatives.

That bit was lovely and so was the hotel but not having lived in Sheffield for 60 years but with many visits over the years, I was shocked and shattered by the state of the area around Castlegate right up the High Street.

I could not believe what I was seeing.

What has happened to my birth place?

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When I left Sheffield parts of that area was still bomb damaged and it looks no better!

It does look like some things have been started and I know the shops will have gone out of business because of Covid but I really was shocked!

Does anyone on the council ever go and walk around that area?

The shops that are there have ugly garish purple yellow bright pink etc shop signs and fronts.

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Do people not have to apply anymore to put/change these signs?

Do we have to have shops spilling out on to the High Street pavements displaying their goods in broken grotty cardboard boxes?

It looks like there is no planning, no vision, just come on in here on our really important Main shopping Road, put what you like up, doesn’t matter if it’s not in keeping just do it!

Does anyone know what is to happen to it all?

Please tell me that the Castlegate project will be completed as that does look like it will make something of the area.

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It was Saturday and very quiet just the grotty depressing area beggars/homeless sitting on every corner.

There is absolutely nothing there to entice people to go down town on a Saturday have a mooch round the shops, buy something, see friends and have a coffee or more!

I know it’s not been anyway near being like that over the last year and more but apart from Marks and Spencer’s being there I would not have wanted to go and mooch round any of the shops on offer!

I hate being so negative about my home town but I really was shocked the pandemic has hit everywhere hard but there just seemed to be no sign of any effort of preparation to make it better!

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Sheffield was such a great place, great history, lovely buildings great community and hard working friendly funny down to earth people!

They deserve a lot more than what I saw this last weekend!

Thank you, sorry it’s been so long and I’m told by my brother that a lot has been done on the Moor so next time I will be sure to go look!

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