Arundel Gate: New Sheffield shipping container attraction delayed due to 'crumbly concrete' roof at O2 Academy

It has been claimed the complex on Arundel Gate, between the O2 Academy and Odeon Cinema, would attract one million visitors a year.

STACK Sheffield, as the attraction has been named, would involve a number of shipping containers arranged over two floors above the existing Arundel Gate car park, set around a large covered central plaza.

There would be live music and other entertainment, a large screen and a range of street food vendors and bars.

STACK already runs shipping container attractions in Seaburn, Lincoln, Newcastle and Middlesbrough, with more planned at sites including Manchester, Leeds, Wigan and Durham.

When plans for the new venue in Sheffield were first unveiled in October 2023, it was claimed it could open in spring 2025.

Yet nearly a year after getting the green light from Sheffield City Council in March 2024, work has yet to begin.

Now a new planning application has been submitted seeking permission to replace the existing roof at the O2 Academy music arena so construction of the shipping container complex can start.

The new application has been submitted by Pond Gate Estate 1 & 2.

The planning statement explains that the plot where STACK Sheffield would be situated is ‘under the same land ownership as the O2 Academy building’.

Potentially unsafe reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), commonly referred to as ‘crumbly concrete’, has been found in the roof of the academy building, which has been temporarily closed since September 2023.

As well as leading to the closure of the O2 Academy, the planning statement says the discovery of RAAC in the building ‘is preventing progression and implementation’ of STACK Sheffield.

Replacing the roof would enable the O2 Academy to reopen and work to commence on STACK Sheffield, according to the planning application.

In November, The Star reported how a separate application had been submitted for permission to remove a ‘RAAC concrete roof deck’ and replace it with a flat roof so the O2 Academy could reopen.

The Star has contacted STACK to ask when work could begin on the new shipping container complex, should permission be granted for the roof to be replaced.

The Star has also contacted the O2 Academy for an update on when it hopes to reopen its Sheffield venue.

STACK has previously said its planned Arundel Gate shipping container attraction would ‘breathe new life’ into Sheffield city centre.

STACK Sheffield would have a maximum capacity of 1,600 people at any one time, according to documents which were previously submitted.

A licensing application submitted last year sought permission for the venue to open from 8am to 2.30am each day, with late night refreshments served between 11pm and 2am.

A previous shipping container complex at the top of Fargate in Sheffield city centre was widely criticised after suffering numerous setbacks and only being in place for around three months before being dismantled, having cost around £500,000 in total.

However, SteelYard Kelham in trendy Kelham Island, which is also built from shipping containers and is home to a variety of food and drink vendors, has proved more successful, as has the Krynkl shipping container building on Shalesmoor, which was until recently home to the Michelin-recommened JÖRO restaurant.