Is Castlegate becoming Sheffield’s new creative quarter?

Good afternoon readers — and welcome to our Monday briefing.

It was the city’s historic heart, but it’s fallen on hard times. Castlegate had been struggling for years, but ever since the Castle Market closed in 2014 its decline has been precipitous. More recently, however, there have been a few signs of life. In the next few years, the area will have a new art gallery in S1 Artspace, and a new music education centre in Harmony Works. Could Castlegate become our new creative quarter? That’s our big story today.

As well as that we have some sad news about the Park Hill cat, a season of David Lynch films at the Showroom, and if you’ve ever wanted a buy a canal boat, now’s your chance.

In case you missed it

Over the weekend, we were finally able to publish the story we’d hoped to bring you last week, until a hefty legal letter on Friday afternoon meant we had to hold our horses. Victoria spoke to Kyla and Michaela, whose 61-year-old mother Veronica Crawford died outside a shop in Gleadless Valley on New Year’s Day, just minutes away from her flat. A company called Green Bridge Community Housing was being paid a hefty chunk of taxpayer’s money to keep her safe, so why couldn’t it? You can read that piece here. 

Last week, our paying subscribers received an extra two editions of The Tribune. In the first, Holly Williams interviewed Sheffield Theatres' new artistic director Elizabeth Newman about the big shoes she has to fill. And, in the second, new freelancer David Coleman examined the data to interrogate whether, as he suspected, our city struggles to attract as many touring musicians as it did in his youth. “I love this piece,” wrote Simon Rowlands, “using data and common sense to shed real light on an issue rather than relying on hunch and opinion.” 

Editor’s note: We’re interviewing Kate Josephs, the Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council, on Friday. What questions should we be putting to her? Let us know in the comments.

The big picture: Bells and whistles 🔔

The 75th Inter-Varsity Folk Dance Festival took place in Sheffield over the weekend. As part of the festival, morris dancing teams (or sides to use the correct term) from all over the UK performed at six locations in the city centre. Pictured are Sutton Masque at Orchard Square.

The big story: Is Castlegate becoming Sheffield’s new creative quarter?

Top line: Work has begun on S1 Artspace’s new premises, the latest development in Sheffield's historic heart Castlegate. The area has long been known as a centre for creativity, but over the next few years it could become an arts and heritage powerhouse.

Taking stock: Last year, S1 Artspace revealed they had found a new home. Namely, the Grade II listed building at the corner of Haymarket and Commercial Street, which used to be the Yorkshire Bank Chambers and, before that, Sheffield’s stock exchange, although it has lain empty since 2017.

• Founded in 1995 by students and artists from Sheffield Hallam University, S1 Artspace grew from a modest, voluntary-run studio complex above a nightclub, into a major arts organisation. They were based at Park Hill flats between 2015 and 2023.
• They were due to get a new gallery in Phase 4 of the flats’ redevelopment, paid for using a portion of the £20 million Sheffield City Council won from the Levelling Up Fund, but this fell through after they weren’t able to raise the necessary match funding.

Fixing a hole: Getting a new home is great news, but the building does need a lot of work. In February, Yorkshire-based heritage specialists Pinnacle Conservation began work on addressing leaks, making the building safe, and removing redundant 1960s additions, including false ceilings and partitions. There is also some asbestos which will need to be removed.

• After this initial phase of the work is complete, S1 Artspace will be able to open part of the ground floor to the public, inviting visitors to give feedback on their initial designs for the space.
• When complete, it will house two floors of public galleries featuring local, national and international artists, as well as artist studios, a community and events space, a research centre, a shop and an independent bar.

Castlegate reborn? The S1 Artspace news is exciting in itself, but it’s only one of the big changes happening in the area. Over the next few years Canada House (next door but one) will become Harmony Works, a new musical education hub for South Yorkshire, and next year, the new park on the former Castle Market site will open. These new attractions will build on the arts spaces that are already there, including the Exchange Place Studios on Exchange Street and the Sheffield Creative Industries Institute on Fitzalan Square.

Our take: Castlegate needed a new story to tell, and this may just be it. As has recently been noted, Sheffield is home to more than 2,000 cultural and creative businesses, which together provide more than 9,000 jobs. City leaders will be hoping that S1 Artspace, Harmony Works and Sheaf Field Park will all help bring new people, businesses and investment to Castlegate, and return Sheffield’s historic heart to its former glory.

The weekly Whitworth ✏️

Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on the news that Sheffield’s long-awaited local plan has been delayed yet again.

Your Tribune briefing 🗞️

Russian interference 🇷🇺 An exclusive investigation in the Guardian has revealed that Telegram channels thought to be linked to the Russian state have been offering to pay people to spray Islamaphobic graffiti on UK mosques. The channels have already been linked to incidents targeting mosques in London earlier this month and have shared documents on how to create bombs and 3D-printed weapons. Last November, an admin of one of the groups asked if anyone in Sheffield or Rotherham could do an unspecified job for them, adding that they were “ready to pay”. 

Drugs in Darnall primary school 🍬Eight children from a primary school in Darnall were taken to hospital following suspicions that they had consumed sweets laced with cannabis, according to the BBC. The children have been discharged and South Yorkshire Police formally launched an investigation on Friday appealing to anyone with information. 

A cut above ✂️ This story in The Times waxes lyrical about the joy of good-quality kitchen scissors and, naturally, uses a brand from Sheffield as its prime example. Local forge Katto’s £45 scissors might seem dear to most people but, as co-founder Josh Roberts points out, they are guaranteed to last a lifetime. “There’s a warm, cosy smugness which comes from having a brilliant, long-lasting version of something which is usually rubbish and disposable.”

Puss-in-doors 🐈 Garfield the Park Hill cat had a nasty scare last week after his home was burnt down by arsonists. The outdoors-loving ginger cat has become a much-loved fixture outside Park Hill after the building’s residents adopted him as their own. However, last week a hut which residents had bought for him was set alight with Garfield still inside. Thankfully, barring some singed fur and whiskers, he escaped uninjured. Nevertheless, after the story went viral, being picked up by BBC Radio Sheffield and The Star, his real owner, who lives nearby, has decided to keep him indoors rather than letting him roam free.

This week’s weather 🌥️

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say there will be a lot of dry and fine weather as high pressure stays close to the south of the UK. Breezy and increasingly mild.

Monday ⛅ Dry and bright away from western hills with some hazy sunshine and broken cloud. Light westerly breezes with highs of 12°C.

Tuesday ⛅ Overnight cloud should thin out to leave another dry day with hazy sunny spells. Breezy from the SW later in the day with highs of 13°C.

Wednesday ⛅ Windy from the southwest at times through the day, but continuing fine otherwise with some sunshine. Mild again with highs of 14°C.

Thursday ⛅ Staying breezy from the southwest and mild too with bright or sunny spells. Chance of increased cloud late on with patchy rain overnight. Highs of 15°C.

Friday ☁ Likely to be cloudier with the risk of some remnants of rain around the region. Less windy but not quite as mild either with highs of 12°C.

Outlook: Probably a little cooler into the weekend, but decent enough with the chance of a few showers but also some good dry and brighter periods. 

To see the full forecast and keep up to date with any changes to the outlook, follow Steel City Skies on Facebook.

Home of the week 🏡

Escape the rat race on this beautiful canal boat which is currently moored at Victoria Quays. The boat is 60 feet long by 12 feet wide, and comes equipped with high spec batteries, solar panels, central heating and a log burner. But the best thing is that, whenever you return home, you’re seconds away from the Dorothy Pax. It’s on the market for £150,000.

Tribune tips: If you have a story or want to tell us some information, please get in touch with us by emailing editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk. We are happy to speak to people off the record, and we guarantee we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity.

Things to do 📆

Film 🍿 Throughout 2025, the Showroom Cinema will celebrate the life and work of one of the great directors with In Dreams, a retrospective of David Lynch’s screen dreams and nightmares. The season opens with The Short Films of David Lynch, his feature film debut Eraserhead, Dune (in collaboration with Kelham Island Film Club), and the rare chance to see all of Twin Peaks season 1 in the cinema. For a full list of all the films see the website.

Theatre 🎭 Starting on Wednesday at the University of Sheffield’s Drama Studio is Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, a stage version of Douglas Adams’ comic novel. The eponymous Dirk Gently is a detective with a belief in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things, a unique relationship with the laws of probability, and a love of cats and pizza. Doors open at 7.30pm and tickets are £13 (£11 concessions). The show runs until Saturday.

Science 🔬 Get ready for an evening exploring the biological and chemical principles that shape the natural world as Sheffield Hallam bring their annual science and art event to Millennium Gallery. From hands-on demonstrations to interactive talks, experience the thrill of exploration and discover how the natural world offers solutions to real-world challenges, from new medicine to environmental conservation. The free three-hour event begins at 7pm.