A year of change in Sheffield city centre ✨
A monumental year. The turning point. On the up.
Call it what you will, but the next 12 months are going to be transformative for Sheffield city centre.
The events calendar is packed, multiple ambitious projects worth hundreds of millions of pounds are converging and the new openings keep on coming.
All this means more shops, restaurants, offices, homes, celebrations and exciting developments to enjoy.
Let’s take a tour of what 2024 has in store.
📖 Published Tuesday 16 January 2024
🛍️ New shops, a spa and eateries
🎉 Events
🏠 New homes or offices (and a hotel)
Regeneration projects 🏗️
In a year’s time, Sheffield city centre should look remarkably different.
That’s thanks to a long list of major regeneration projects, including the £500m long-awaited Heart of the City II, taking shape.
Heart of the City encompasses multiple different projects such as the Bethel Chapel live music venue and residential development Kangaroo Works.
Some of the first projects to be realised are referenced in more detail later.
In the next few weeks, ground will be broken at Castlegate as work to turn one of the most historic parts of the city into a new public space begins.
This year Sheffield Hallam University will also open three new buildings as part of its new modern campus with a green public space.
And people can also expect to see more detailed plans for the future of the former John Lewis and Cole Brothers store at Barker’s Pool.
Urban Splash has been chosen to develop the retail unit into a mixed-use space called Cole Store to meet, eat and shop.
Councillor Ben Miskell, chair of regeneration for Sheffield City Council, said: “2024 is going to be a really exciting year, we are going to start seeing the city centre transform. Not only will there be more shops, places for Sheffield people to eat and drink but it will also become even more a destination for the wider region.
“We know the city is a tourist destination for lots of people in the UK. I went up to the top floor of the new Radisson Blu hotel a month ago and it was amazing to see the view across to the town hall and Peace Gardens from the restaurant and rooftop bar space people will soon be able to visit.”
This year master plans to develop land outside Sheffield Railway Station and at Moorfoot, both with Homes England, will progress with a business case for the former expected in spring.
They could tie in with the ambition to create 20,000 new homes in the city centre as part of its regeneration, which would be a major boost to footfall.
Councillor Miskell added: “I live in the city centre, I am proud of the city centre and by having more people live there there will be more people in the shops, going to the theatres and making the city a vibrant place.”
A feasibility study into options for the future of the grade-II listed Central Library building is also due to begin. It will explore the potential of its use as a flagship gallery and arts building.
Elsewhere, cranes remain in place at West Bar where a £300m new neighbourhood or business and residential accommodation is being created.
Phase one, with 368 apartments and 10,000 sq feet of office space, is due to be completed in 2024.
New shops, a spa and eateries 🛍️
Independent icons and big retail names are aligning, all in one compact destination.
Shoppers will be able to browse at new stores in Sheffield city centre in this milestone year for its retail scene.
Much-loved city artist Pete McKee is moving his gallery from Sharrow Vale to the centre as part of the Leah’s Yard development in Heart of the City.
Leah’s Yard is a revival of a Grade II listed building, a former industrial workshop steeped in Sheffield heritage, on Cambridge Street.
Once complete in the summer, it will include boutique shops and studios for contemporary ‘makers’ or creatives. Pete’s gallery is the first confirmed tenant.
A short stroll away on Charles Street, Fjällräven is opening its second UK shop. The Swedish brand is famed for its trendy backpacks and will be next to Yards Store, which sells men’s clothing from top brands like Patagonia.
Another new premium store announcement - the details of which are under wraps for now - is expected in the next few weeks.
Food-lovers won’t be shortchanged in the city centre. Many are counting down the days until the opening of Cambridge Street Collective early this spring.
This food hall will comprise a rooftop bar, more than 20 kitchens for talented food traders to operate from and a cookery school.
It is expected to open early this year also as part of Heart of the City and is being run by Blend Family, the firm behind popular Cutlery Works in Kelham Island.
Parents taking their children to the excellent new Pounds Park in the city centre can also get their coffee fix, without leaving the playground.
Brazilian Rosangela Rodrigues is the woman behind Grão Café Brazil, a parkside coffee cart selling luxury coffee and homemade Brazilian food. The charming converted horsebox is open from Wednesday to Saturday each week.
When it comes to trying new tastes, there’s also bubble tea drinks specialist Tiger Sugar on Fargate, which chose Sheffield for its first UK store late last year.
Their Black Sugar Boba is the ideal companion to take out and enjoy with a main dish from Yutu on Eyre Lane.
This brand new opening has a small menu of Asian fusion food, ranging from sushi boxes to katsu curry. Staff say it is slowly building up lunch time regulars.
Yutu is a welcome addition to the daytime food scene in the lower part of the city centre, as is the new Frazer’s Coffee located in a historic building on Arundel Street.
Independent roastery Frazer’s (which sells special Steel City and Full Monty blends, naturally) offers customers coffee to takeaway or to drink in.
Unusually, it also gives them the chance to see the process of making coffee with a view into the roastery from their table.
Off West Street, another historic building has been given a new lease of life.
The Turkish Baths 1877 is now open on Victoria Street, offering baths’ experiences, massages and facials.
Entertainment destination Tenpin has taken over the former Argos store on Angel Street, opening on 22 December 2023. It includes escape rooms, bowling, laser tag, karaoke and crazy golf across 40,000 square feet. There's also table tennis and a large arcade game space.
On the outskirts of the city centre boundary, Panenka at New Era Square launched its new gaming experience in December. Virtual reality pods, karaoke, gaming nights, live sports and Bento-style bottomless brunches are on the menu.
And finally, much-praised Park Hill Punjabi restaurant 5tara have announced plans for a second site on Shalesmoor.
Events 🎉
Sport, music, art and food will all be celebrated at some of Sheffield’s biggest events in the city centre this year. Here we showcase just ten.
This month internationally renowned Sheffield street artist Phlegm brings his Pandemic Diary display to the Millennium Gallery.
It features his daily, fantastical drawings of life in lockdown, running from 13th January until 7th July 2024.
It’s also - helpfully in the bleakness of never-ending January - free to attend.
There’s been a huge buzz about the UK’s biggest celebration of black music and culture coming to Sheffield on 7th February.
While the main MOBO Awards event is to be held at Sheffield Utilita Arena, the details of satellite events elsewhere in the city centre are to be revealed soon.
February also sees a series of celebrations to mark the Sheffield Lunar Chinese New Year, with a five-day event taking place from Friday 9th to Tuesday 13th February, an inclusive celebration of the diversity in the city.
Get on your marks for the popular Sheffield Half Marathon, which this year takes place on Sunday 7th April.
Thousands of runners will complete a challenging route starting on Arundel Gate and taking in one of Sheffield’s toughest hill climbs before heading back to the city centre.
Also in April, the World Snooker Championships will return to the Crucible Theatre for the 48th year.
Expect to spot snooker superstars and catch all the dramatic action from this historic tournament. It begins on Saturday 20th April and usually includes public screens in the theatre square and Winter Garden.
Sheffield Food Festival - the city’s biggest free event - will bring a feast of flavours to the streets from Saturday 25th May to Bank Holiday Monday, 27th May.
In recent years the festival has expanded to include more music, entertainment and drinks with traders providing dishes from across the world.
It’s also a milestone month for the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, which celebrates its 40th anniversary from Friday 17 May to Saturday 25th May.
Some of the world’s biggest classical music stars are taking part in the multi-venue festival organised by producer Music in the Round.
Summer brings a smorgasbord of events to the city centre, and hopefully some sunshine too.
Explore the finest documentary films from around the world as DocFest transfers the buzz of the industry to Sheffield screens including at The Showroom from Wednesday 12 June to Monday 17 June.
Business experts will share their insight at TEDx Sheffield, which is booked in on Saturday 8th June at The Crucible Studio.
And then there’s The Fringe at Tramlines, the little sister of the Tramlines Festival, which brings foot-tapping beats to the streets for the weekend of Friday 26th to Sunday 28th July.
The Peace Gardens host one of the entertainment stages, and venues around the city get into the festival spirit.
Through the summer holidays Sheffield by the Seaside is always a hit with families thanks to its combination of sandpits, children’s rides and entertainment. Dates are yet to be confirmed.
New homes or offices (and a hotel) 🏠
Sheffield was hailed as one of the UK’s ‘coolest city breaks’ last year.
It’s good timing then, that the new Radisson Blu hotel on Pinstone Street is to open early in 2024.
This upmarket hotel in Heart of the City will boast a rooftop bar and restaurant overlooking the stunning Peace Gardens.
For those who want a more permanent base, Sky-House Co is working on 28 new duplex houses, 32 apartments and supporting businesses at Devonshire Quarter.
The first units at the ‘vibrant’ Sky-House, Devonshire Quarter, are expected to be available later in 2024.
The developer has also exchanged contracts for a second city centre neighbourhood of 34 apartments and 12 family homes at Copper Street just off Furnace Hill.
Founder and director David Cross said it would ‘bring new life to an area which historically was dubbed Little Chicago during the Sheffield Gang Wars of the 1920s.’
Sheffield is also set to gain a new tallest building.
Kings Tower, a 40-storey tower block set to rise from the former Primark store on Angel Street, was given the go-ahead by planners this week.
It will include 428 ‘co-living’ homes and commercial space.
A short walk away on Fargate, another ex-retail store is becoming new offices. Ratoon is the name for the former Topman which is now commercial space with a rooftop terrace overlooking the city centre skyline.
Changing streets 🌳
If it feels like no stone is being unturned in Sheffield city centre, that’s because it isn’t.
On Fargate even the pavement beneath shoppers’ feet is changing.
The street is to benefit from new planting, seating areas, trees and improvements to shop frontages with some fresh paving already down.
Sustainable urban drainage and underground bins are also part of the revamp.
It’s taking place through a wider £33m scheme, also including the creation of a cultural community hub called Event Central.
Work on the street itself, but not individual buildings, is due to be completed by the end of 2024.
Councillor Miskell said the Fargate scheme was one of the schemes he was ‘most excited’ about.
He added: “I remember visiting Sheffield from Rotherham as a child on day trips and walking up Fargate, seeing it as this hive of activity. That’s what it is going to be again.”
Several new shops have recently opened on Fargate, including a new mobile phone shop and a branch of Burger King, with more expected soon.
Another first for Sheffield, and South Yorkshire, is the new ‘Dutch roundabout’ currently being created at West Bar as part of the Connecting Sheffield project.
This will create a segregated cycle lane, provide more pedestrian and cycle crossings and give priority to those on two wheels with the aim of improving sustainable travel. It is due for completion in late 2024.
Finally, Councillor Miskell confirmed that plans to develop Surrey Street and Pinstone Street are also to be brought forward soon.