Unveiled – a brand new vision for Stocksbridge town centre

The Stocksbridge Town Deal Board has this week unveiled the ambitious plans for a brand new town centre – bringing jobs, investment, and new and flexible community space to the heart of the town.

The first planning application has now been submitted to Sheffield City Council which will deliver the striking landmark anchor building on a regenerated Manchester Road. The vision for the town will transform the traditional retail area of Stocksbridge with an investment totalling more than £20m, creating a future proofed town centre which will meet the needs of the local community.

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 – somewhere for budding entrepreneurs and small businesses  to collaborate, innovate, incubate, and grow.

The development will bring new activity and investment to the town centre and create jobs as well as new skills and opportunities in Stocksbridge.  The Stocksbridge Town Deal Board has decided to prioritise securing the town centre improvements. Once contracts are in place the Board will move on to the remaining projects in the Town Deal programme.

The master plan for the town also includes an attractive new Town Square and car parking as well as major improvements to the currently rundown precinct area with new shopfronts and paving. This will create a focal point for markets and events with the opportunity to collaborate with local groups and partners.

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 house:

• 10,000 sq. ft. of modern and flexible office space for new businesses to establish and grow.
• A new modern, ground floor library and community space.
• Space for a new town centre café operator.
• Purpose built classrooms to deliver adult education and skills for the local community.
• Space for pop up banking services and other local community facilities.

The striking 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 sustainability in mind; with photovoltaic panels as well as rain gardens for stormwater run-off and a blue roof system which temporarily stores excess storm water – minimising the risk of flooding.

The submission of this first town centre planning application marks a major milestone in a project which has been developed by the Town Deal Board and Sheffield City Council. It is hoped that work will start on the project in spring / summer 2024.

Regenerating the town centre is a key priority for the Town Deal Board and the new building is at the heart of a raft of investment which 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.

Town Deal Board Lead for Stocksbridge 519, 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.”

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 reflects 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 new hub is absolutely key to regenerating the high street and will enable other projects, including the adult education provision, to be delivered and will sit alongside the new Town Square. We look forward to the next stage of the new plans and work starting on the ground later this year.”

The planning application for Stocksbridge 519 will be followed later in the spring with further applications for the new Town Square, car parking improvements, landscaping and shop front enhancements to the precinct area.

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. The Board also agreed that the Little Don Rivers Project would not be funded. 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.

The Stocksbridge investment was approved by the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities in December 2022. To keep up to date with news about the Stocksbridge Town Deal visit www.welcometostocksbridge.co.uk

(Original post: https://www.welcometostocksbridge.co.uk/2024/01/16/unveiled-a-brand-new-vision-for-stocksbridge-town-centre).