Major redevelopment planned for Stocksbridge town centre including new community hub

The first planning application has now been submitted to Sheffield City Council which will deliver a landmark central building on the regenerated Manchester Road in Stocksbridge.

The new building will be home to a state of the art new library as well as offering community space, classrooms for post-16 learning and managed workspace.

Town Deal Board Lead for the building, Ian Sanderson, said: “We want to create something that will be a real game changer for Stocksbridge, and we believe we have the design and concept for the building which clearly shows the ambition that we all have for the town.

“The building not only looks fantastic but is going to bring new activity, uses and investment to a part of our town centre which so badly needs regenerating and upgrading. The new hub will be at the heart of the newly regenerated Manchester Road, underpinning the wider investment in the area which is needed.”

The Town Deal Board has worked with Sheffield City Council, Rider Levett Bucknall and the award winning South Yorkshire architects CODA on the design of the new landmark building on a site partly occupied by the current library building.

With a working title of Stocksbridge 519, the development is designed over three floors covering 25,134 sq. ft. and will also house space for a new town centre café operator. Plans also include space for pop up banking services and other local community facilities.

The building design has taken inspiration from the local industrial heritage architecture, as well as the more modern buildings of the neighbouring successful Fox Valley development.

Stocksbridge 519 has also been designed with multiple sustainability features, including solar panels, rain gardens for stormwater run-off and a blue roof system which temporarily stores excess storm water – minimising the risk of flooding.

It is hoped that work will start on the project in spring or summer 2024.

The Town Deal Board said regenerating the town centre is a “key priority”, and described the new building as a “heart of a raft of investment”.

The investment will also include upgraded paving and public realm as well as the new Town Square and a shop front improvement scheme initially in the precinct area of Manchester Road. Further planning applications will be made later in the year to deliver the wider town centre projects.

The master plan for the town also includes a new Town Square and car parking as well as major improvements to the currently rundown precinct area with new shopfronts and paving.

The aim of these projects will be to create a “focal point” for markets and events with the opportunity to collaborate with local groups and partners.

Co-chair of the Stocksbridge Town Deal Board, Miriam Cates MP, said: “From the outset the

community told us that the Manchester Road area was a priority and we have sought to bring forward a development which will reflect the ambition and vision that the town really deserves. We are delighted to reach this important milestone in our anchor project for the town centre.”

The Stocksbridge Town Deal Board agreed at its meeting in November that due to increased costs and inflationary pressures that the hydrotherapy pool project at Stocksbridge Community Leisure Centre would not be funded in its present form as well as the Little Don Rivers Project.

Other projects across the programme will be phased until the costs of the high street projects are confirmed, ensuring the priority projects for the town can be delivered in the first phase of work.