Questions over changes to Stocksbridge regeneration plans

Coun Marieanne Elliot told a meeting of Sheffield City Council’s finance committee (January 23) that it is “disappointing” to hear that work to develop the Upper Don Trail for walkers and cyclists has been shelved from plans to regenerate the steel town at the edge of Sheffield, which have been funded by £24.1 million of government money.

She questioned the transparency of decisions taken by the Stocksbridge Town Deal Board, which is spearheading the project. The board, co-chaired by Penistone and Stocksbridge Conservative MP Miriam Cates and Sheffield Sharks basketball franchise chair and sports entrepreneur Yuri Matischen, is supported in its work by the city council.

Coun Elliot said that at a previous meeting, she had questioned the decision-making on the board and criticised a lack of transparency about the Upper Don Trail project which was “essentially scrapped”.

She said: “I suppose my questions are still the same as last time. Do we know how the board reached that decision? I understand the decision was reached to scrap the project because they didn’t think it was of best economic value but, as far as I know, the Upper Don Trail Trust and other stakeholders still don’t know how that decision has come about.”

Council finance manager Damian Watkinson said that the board minutes are published online but Coun Elliot said she didn’t think they had been “and that’s part of the problem”. She said that the council is represented on the board so it should have a role in making sure that decisions are reported to the stakeholders and the public.

Funding

Senior finance officer Natalia Govorukhina, who attends the board, was at the meeting. She said that the trails project is not completely cancelled but the board have agreed to reduce the funding.

She added: “I understand there was a lot of work done with Yorkshire Water on what components we can do in that area and I think one of the board had meetings with groups and stakeholders and discussed the options for not necessarily funding it from the towns funding but some other sources as well, so I think those discussions have taken place.”

She said that the minutes of the November meeting have now been published on the council website.

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Coun Elliot said that the stakeholders are disappointed at the decision, particularly as “that crucial link, linking Stocksbridge to the countryside, is not going to go ahead, so it’s really disappointing”.

Coun Mike Levery said he understands the position the board is in because all construction work on the project has to be completed by March 2026 to ensure the funding is made available.

He added: “So the main focus has gone on the high street because it was a high street project in the first place, and the additional projects that came in were put in and you’ve got £4m of contingency to cover those later projects, so I do understand that.”

Reconsidered

He asked whether the projects that have been dropped would be reconsidered if there was money left over because costs came in lower than anticipated.

Ms Govorukhina replied that plans for the high street, community hub and place-making project are going out to tender shortly and the costs should be known by March or April. Any leftover money would be allocated back to projects that have been paused.

As well as the Upper Don Trail, the board decided in November to pause plans for a hydrotherapy pool in Stocksbridge Leisure Centre as the cost had risen from £500k to £1.8m. Some aspects of the high street improvements have been moved to phase two of the project.

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The main focal point of the project is currently a new three-storey building on Manchester Road. It will house a community hub comprising a public library, community space, classrooms, cafe and office space. A planning application for the hub, called Stocksbridge 519, was recently submitted to the city council.

The board announced that planning permission will be sought this spring to create a new Town Square, car parking improvements, landscaping and shop front enhancements to the precinct area.

Ms Govorukhina offered to take up questions and concerns from Coun Elliot or other committee members with the board. Coun Levery said that the council’s North Local Area Committee (LAC) gets reports about the board’s progress and that Coun Julie Grocutt, who is a member of the LAC, also sits on the town deal board.

Demolition

The board minutes for November, which are available online at the city council website, https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/, report city council programme manager Howard Varns as saying the board had “some important and difficult decisions to make to secure the key Manchester Road projects”.

Mr Varns added that “updated costs, due to inflationary pressures and changes in scope on the town centre projects now means that it is not possible to move ahead with all ten projects in their current form and at the same time”.

He also said: “To deliver the enhanced town centre place-making project with the town square and the purchase and demolition of the former Factory Shop building the board need to prioritise the projects.”

The minutes record that Miriam Cates said: “It was clear the board would have to delay or cut some projects and it was important to go back to the original consultation which clearly indicated the priorities were the Hopper Bus and regenerating the Manchester Road area.

“She said that the costs had spiralled for the Hydrotherapy Pool and the projects needed to be viewed alongside the cost and benefits.”

Coun Grocutt added that “the board had to make a difficult decision and do that with their eyes open. They all had to think about what was important for the town.”