Sisk lands £25m Sheffield civils win
John Sisk & Son has been appointed by the city council to deliver landscaping, green planting areas and lighting in Fargate.
As part of the project, the large events area adjacent to Leopold Street will be enlarged and enhanced, with seating added along with public water points.
A series of pocket parks are also to be delivered. Comprising 27,000 sq ft in total., some of these will host play areas while as a whole, they form part of the ‘grey to green’ plan to harvest rainwater run-off to enhance biodiversity.
Another new feature for the area will be ‘buried bins’, replacing large trade waste bins, while bollards will be installed, meaning timed access for delivery vehicles.
Linking the Heart of the City development area to Castlegate, Fargate is a key area of the city centre, and one where improvement has long been a priority.
Sheffield received £15.8m from the Future High Streets Fund to enhance the area, in a bid backed by the University of Sheffield. Development in the area is also backed by a £50m Transforming Cities Fund allocation administered by the South Yorkshire Combined Authority.
The place-enhancing measures in the civils project form part of Sheffield City Council’s “front door scheme,” which aims to bring more upper floors of buildings in the area into use as apartments and offices – as the name suggests, separate front doors will be added to various buildings. The six-storey community hub Event Central is the flagship project in the scheme.
Dominic Hodges, UK civils managing director at Sisk, said: “Sisk is delighted that we’ve reached this important milestone and that funding has now been secured to construct the scheme. We’ll be working closely with local businesses and residents throughout construction to ensure this work causes minimum disruption.
“We’ll also continue to work with communities to offer opportunities for employment and work experience while we’re on site. We’re pleased to be working with Sheffield City Council on this scheme which will enhance Fargate and help to maker the high street more sustainable.”
