A demolition site in the middle of Sheffield city centre could be “reactivated” under a £16m plan, but how the city council is managing it has been questioned.
Money was secured from the Levelling Up Fund to transform the plot in Castlegate, where Sheffield Castle stood in the Middle Ages.
The plan will involve excavating some of the castle and creating a park and event space.
Martin Gorman, Chair of the Friends of Sheffield Castle, said: “It’s a huge area that’s just a wasteland that needs to be reactivated.”
The Friends published their own blueprint for the site in 2018 and some of their ideas were used by the council.
But Mr Gorman said it was “disappointing” that the council has not allowed for more of the castle to be excavated, due to rising costs and supply issues.
He said the castle is important to the city’s heritage, as the site where Sheffield began: “Everyone knows about the industrial history of Sheffield.
“But the story of our medieval history has never really been told. It tells the story of Sheffield’s history right back to the year zero.”
Despite his concerns, Mr Gorman said excavating some of the castle is at least a start that can be built on later down the line.
He said: “It would have been very easy [for the council] to say ‘we’ll allocate a building plot to that area and forget the archaeology’.
“But the council have listened and said ‘ok, we’ll create the design around that’ and it gives us the opportunity to do additional archaeology at a later date.”
Cllr Mazher Iqbal, co-chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee, defended the council’s plans for Castlegate.
In a press release, he said: “Our teams have worked incredibly hard to develop a plan which brings together the history of the space and offers an inviting space for Sheffielders to visit and enjoy within the city centre.”
The council’s planning application can be viewed here.
