Sheffield city centre market could move to new location

The casual outdoor stalls on King Street could be relocated due to the area being redeveloped with a 39-storey skyscraper on the former Primark site.

The 206-apartment block, named Kings Tower, will sit alongside phase 1 of Kings Buildings, which includes new retail and leisure space and the 131-bed easyHotel.

Sheffield Council is hoping to create a new space for the market stalls at Esperanto Place, which is a short street stretching from Arundel Gate down to Fitzalan Square.

The plans are in the early stages, and the council has had to submit an application to its own planning officers, but the markets team hope the new location will be a welcome boost and attract more footfall.

There are plans for more fruit and veg stalls, artisan makers and independent coffee vans. Students on business courses could also have the chance of trying out a stall to put their academic work into practice.

King Street market currently has 18 stalls and two pitches selling a selection of goods each day.

On Monday there’s a second hand market selling antiques and bric-a-brac while Wednesdays are a second hand clothes day. The other days are general market goods.

Esperanto Place is named after a language created in the 19th century by Polish doctor Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof

It was designed so people can quickly learn it as a second language and have easy conversations with other speakers from anywhere in the world.

Sheffield hosted the British Esperanto Conference in 1914, 1974, 1992 and 2014, and the city is one of the few places in Britain to have a street named Esperanto.

Planners are considering the application which can be viewed here

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