SYMCA signs off £21m connectivity funding
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, together with local leaders, has approved investment into the Connecting Sheffield: City Centre project.
Connecting Sheffield is one of the projects that forms part of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s £166m Transforming Cities Fund programme, allocated by the Department for Transport in 2020.
The project includes improvement of public spaces and connections for walking, wheeling and cycling between areas such as Fargate, Heart of the City and The Moor, all of which have seen or are seeing investment at present, with more cured up for the coming years at The Moor in particular.
John Sisk & Son was appointed last spring on a £25m civils contract to improve key retail pitch Fargate.
The new funding slug will also cover the creation of open spaces and introducing further planting to the city’s streets.
Connecting Sheffield: City Centre is also intended to support businesses to use more outdoor space for people to shop, eat and spend time, subject to licences, as city and regional leaders look to boost the city’s leisure sector.
Cllr Ben Miskell, chair of Sheffield City Council’s transport, regeneration and climate policy committee, said: “Sheffield is changing. It’s transforming into an incredible city offering something for everyone whether you’re a resident here or visiting from further afield.
“Our Connecting Sheffield: City Centre project links up all the key areas in the city centre. From the Heart of the City’s great shops, services, dining, and entertainment to our fantastic shopping experience at The Moor and the new Fargate project as it nears completion. This investment will contribute further to the ongoing transformation of our cleaner, greener, more thriving city centre.”
Sheffield City Council said that key changes since the initial consultation include:
- Widening the footway from Cross Burgess Street to The Moor create more space between pedestrians and cyclists
- Pedestrianising Surrey Street between Pinstone Street and Norfolk Street, creating more space for events and potentially outdoor seating for businesses. This will also include a cycle route connecting to proposed cycle routes on Fargate and Pinstone Street
- Pedestrianising Charles Street between Pinstone Street and Union Street, again offering the opportunity for more outdoor seating
- Removal of a segregated two-way cycle route previously proposed along Furnival Gate and Arundel Gate close to Furnival Gate roundabout
- Commitment to a two-way cycle route between Sheffield Hallam University to where Pinstone Street meets Furnival Gate, but this will now run from Howard Street to Charles Street then via Pinstone Street.
Construction is due to start on the project in January 2025, with Traffic Regulation Orders to make the required changes to roads being advertised this week.
Oliver Coppard, South Yorkshire’s Mayor, said: “This important city centre project will not just give us greater freedom and choice about how we travel and move, but will also support our plans to make South Yorkshire the healthiest region in the country.
“It is part of the steps we are taking across our region to build new walking and cycling routes over the next three years – creating better places and more opportunities for us all to move more and move differently.”
Following South Yorkshire’s receipt of Transforming Cities Fund support, SYMCA was subsequently awarded £570m to deliver increased capacity as part of the five-year City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, under which public transport and active travel are to be promoted.
