Go-ahead likely for Sheffield ‘green corridor’

Councillors are set to give the go-ahead to proposals for the £3.6m project for the new Riverside Business District in the run-down Castlegate area, which was home to the bulk of the city’s street traders before their move to the new, purpose-built market building in The Moor shopping street.

The scheme, dubbed “grey to green”, includes the removal of nearly a mile of road to create a “linear public space” incorporating meadows, walkways and cycle routes.

Designs have been drawn up with the help of the University of Sheffield’s landscape school.

Sheffield Council’s cabinet member for business, Coun Leigh Bramall, said: “It is intended to transform the riverside area of the city into a green environment suitable for expanding business.

“It’s an area that will not only link the city centre with Victoria Quays and The Wicker, but also provide an attractive green space to complement the local businesses and make it an attractive location for further investment.

“I know many local people would like to happen.”

The business district is one part of the city centre’s regeneration masterplan, which includes a new retail quarter designed to claw back the £90m in consumer spending it loses to other cities with bigger-name shops every year.