Sheffield Castle: budget boosted for archaeological dig via levelling up fund

Council officers said the budget will increase by £224,000 to £561,000 for archaeological and site investigation work as well as the development of a wider masterplan and de-culverting a section of the River Sheaf.

This will be funded from Levelling Up money awarded by the government.

Councillor Mazher Iqbal, chair of the regeneration committee, said: “It’s good news, it demonstrates that we didn’t have that level of resource before to do the work and now we do and that’s why we are all excited.”

In a report prepared for a meeting of the finance sub-committee this week, in which councillors are expected to approve the spending, council officers said: “Sheffield City Council has successfully bid for ‘Levelling Up Funding’ to invest in three projects that focus on the heritage, culture, natural environment and public realm of the Castlegate area.

“This was a ‘package bid’ that brings together three projects that respond directly to the Levelling Up Fund’s call to ‘prioritise investment that not only brings economic benefits, but also helps bind communities together’.

“It welcomes visitors, residents and investors into a previously neglected part of Sheffield’s heritage, using public realm interventions to create a new sense of place.

“It links historic sites with revitalised cultural institutions that will nurture the city’s talent for generations to come.

“This project is for works to reveal the ruins of Sheffield’s Castle and the river Sheaf, create enhanced public realm and green space, and creation of development plots to allow for future businesses to locate in the area.”

Sheffield Castle project

The council commissioned Wessex Archaeology to investigate the site of the 13th century castle in 2018.

The Friends of Sheffield Castle said: “This work provided the first opportunity to understand the archaeology of the whole site. The eleven trenches revealed more of Sheffield’s rich steel-making past along with a section across the full width of the medieval castle’s moat. The project created a fantastic opportunity to understand more about Sheffield’s medieval past, much of which was lost during the 19th century development of the city.”