Last week, a Guardian Cities article explored the steep decline in shops in Sheffield city centre and asked who was to blame. Reader reaction was swift and impassioned.
According to our analysis, in five years Sheffield has lost 17.8% of its stores – double the average among English and Welsh town centres, and the worst among big cities.
So why is the problem particularly acute in the steel city? Readers had many thoughtful comments.
Meadowhall, an out-of-town shopping centre which opened in 1990 and offers free parking, has long been cited as a contributing factor to the demise of shops in the heart of the city. Some blame the rise in online shopping, others a lack of vision by the city council. Local retailers, meanwhile, point squarely at high business rates.
Of the many thoughtful comments below the piece, here are some of the best – and some potential solutions.
‘It was always the independent stuff that made Sheffield city centre an exciting place to visit’
You can drive to Meadowhall, park for free within a short walk of a comfortable air conditioned environment. Sheffield City Council have presided for decades over a policy which makes driving and parking expensive and difficult. A policy which effectively promotes Meadowhall to the disadvantage of the city centre.
‘The answer is in more local, individual, specialist outlets’
High Street shopping areas need to become smaller, more compact and more specialised - and business rates need radical overhaul. You can see this in big cities as well as smaller provincial towns such as mine. Our long high street is peppered with empty units and charity shops, yet cafes and restaurants are appearing and apparently doing ok. There is no future for big brand stores on most high streets, the answer is in more local, individual, specialist outlets - but rates need to come down to allow them to thrive.
‘During the 80s it was a colourful, dynamic place’
So sad, when jobs go so does that sense of community.
During the 80s I would work in Sheffield and like other similar cities, Nottingham, Leicester, Derby it seemed to have its own life and energy, it was a colourful, dynamic place, and I loved working there.
A few years ago I visited Magna, a terrific place but there are many things this government needs to address if it is prepared to challenge the malaise rotting the heart of our communities. Perhaps I’m getting old in the tooth but something tells me it has neither the vision, the heart or the stamina.
‘The tram to Meadowhall started the death of the city centre’
If it weren’t for John Lewis many people wouldn’t visit Sheffield at all. The tram to Meadowhall started the death of the city centre - Manchester made the right decision not to take the tram to the Trafford centre. It’s such a shame to see what’s happened to Sheffield. What I don’t understand is why it’s always so difficult to park - if no-one's shopping there, why are the car parks always full?
Sheffield should take note of the successful case of Altrincham, Manchester. The centre was seriously depressed until one bold renovation project created a giant new restaurant. It proved so popular that people got fed up waiting in the queue and started using nearby eateries instead, where they could get quicker service.....England's Best High Street award shortly followed.
‘The main shopping centre can feel a bit underwhelming’
There’s a lot of city centre living in Sheffield now, although there is an argument that flats attract a more transient population. It’s a strange city in that it has vibrant suburbs all around the immediate outskirts, so the main shopping centre can feel a bit underwhelming. Overall, a great place to live and socialise. Like most places outside London, it could do with more employment (meaning real businesses moving into the area, as opposed to everyone riding around on bikes delivering pizzas to each other).
‘People are just changing the way they shop’
I keep seeing the arguments to try and ‘save’ high streets when what they really need is to change to become more service based and reflect what people want rather than hope to look like something ‘typical’
Plus we keep seeing business rates blamed for everyone’s problems but just checking the gov.uk business rates calculator around 80% of the shops on my local suburban shopping street all have total relief from rates due to their size - but they still claim to be treading water. Maybe rates aren’t the only issue, people are just changing the way they shop?
jark44
Sheffield City Council - yes they have had massive cuts to deal with but this is significantly exacerbated by poor and authoritarian leadership, a total lack of vision, seeming incompetence and very fraught local LP politics. They have completely lost the faith of most voters in the city.
Total lack of imagination stalks our high streets. Obvious chain retail is dead. Let's have indies and live/ work spaces #highstreet https://t.co/MGO3xZLwWz
— Dr DeborahTalbot (@DeborahHTalbot) February 2, 2019
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Sheffield council seems in denial about Meadowhall. It’s huge and always busy so surely must generate the same amount of money as a thriving city centre destination like Leeds or Manchester? In that case why not just accept that Meadowhall is Sheffield’s ‘retail quarter’ with all the big chains, and invest in supporting independent businesses in the city centre with schemes to help pay business taxes. It was always the independent stuff that made Sheffield city centre an exciting place to visit - worth a detour after buying the boring bits at Meadowhall. Now there’s barely any of that left it’s just another soulless identikit place.