Green transformation to be extended in Castlegate

A consultation has opened on plans to extend Castlegate's award-winning Grey to Green project to Angel Street, creating a green link between the city centre and Victoria Quays.

The scheme includes new walking and cycling routes and colourful wildflower meadows, and incorporates a sustainable drainage system to reduce flood risk from the River Don.

The plans will see traffic on Angel Street reduced to a single lane, with a two-way cycle lane built to connect Castlegate with the city centre.

"The Grey to Green scheme is an incredibly important part of our work towards improving climate resilience and increasing bio-diversity in the city centre," said Cllr Julie Grocutt, the new Cabinet Member for Transport and Development.

"It has also given us the opportunity to introduce attractive new cycling and walking routes in the area which are essential to the regeneration of the city centre as an appealing place to live, work and visit."

The proposals also include new seating and improvements to the public space outside Kommune food hall, which took over the ground floor of Castle House in 2019.

The planned cycle lane will eventually connect to a new route down High Street, which was recently successful in gaining funding from central government.

Subject to the outcome of the consultation, building work is expected to begin on the Angel Street project this summer and will take six to eight months to complete.

As with previous Grey to Green projects, much of the funding has come from the European Regional Development Fund, making it one of the last projects in the UK to be funded by EU money.

The most recent part of the project was completed in September, and saw the little-used Castlegate road closed to traffic and transformed into a riverside boulevard.

As well as launching an online survey on the Angel Street plans, Sheffield Council are hosting two consultation sessions. These will take place by Zoom on 27 January and 2 February.

Cllr Mazher Iqbal, Cabinet Member for Business and Investment, said he was "very proud" of the completed phases of the project, adding that it was "renewing interest" in a historical area of the city."

Proposals to expand the scheme are testament to the positive reaction and acclaim the Grey to Green project has received so far, and I’d like to encourage as many people as possible to find out more about the plans and share your views with us."