CITY PROFILE: SHEFFIELD

In its heyday Sheffield was the steel capital of the world. In the 17th century, the city was the biggest producer of cutlery outside of London and by the 19th century, Sheffield saw a huge expansion of its traditional cutlery trade, when stainless steel and crucible steel were developed locally, fuelling a surge in population. International competition in iron and steel caused a decline in these industries in the 1970s and 1980s, coinciding with the collapse of coal mining in the area. But Sheffield has fought back from these difficult economic times to reinvent itself as a progressive 21st century city, specialising in the hi-tech, new media, banking and insurance sectors.

KEY FACTS

Transport: Situated next to the M1 and having four airports within less than an hour’s drive, Sheffield is ideal in terms of travel and accessibility due to its central location in the country.

Employers: The city ranges from being a centre for banking and insurance functions, to attracting digital start-ups, as well as being home to two of the country’s largest universities, Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam University.

Enterprise Zone: The Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone is rated the number 1 Enterprise Zone for Modern Manufacturing and Technology in the UK by the Financial Times fDi magazine. World-class businesses in the area surrounding the Zone include Boeing, Siemens and Rolls-Royce.

Population: Sheffield itself has a population of 560,000 people, although the metropolitan district of Sheffield is much larger with more than 1.5 million people living in the surrounds of the city.

The City Centre: A £185m Heart of the City project has created a brand-new central professional and retail quarter, becoming a catalyst for Sheffield’s economic revival and a magnet for investors.

Housing: Becoming more of a desirable place to live and work each year, demand for residential and commercial property is increasing at a faster rate than it can be provided.

Economy: According to the city council, Sheffield’s economy is now worth £7bn a year.

TRANSPORT

The borough of Sheffield is the third largest in the England and, as it is relatively centrally located in the country, it’s ideal in terms of travel and accessibility.

The city has four airports within less than an hour’s drive, helping to make it an easy transport hub for overseas as well as the UK. Situated next to the M1, Sheffield is also directly linked to many cities and towns all over the country via Yorkshire’s excellent motorway network.

In addition, there are swift direct train links to London St Pancras and the possibility of the HS2 rail service if plans are approved. More locally, there is another major rail station at Meadowhall, one of Europe’s biggest leisure and retail complexes, attracting more than 400,000 visitors per week, and four smaller suburban stations at Chapeltown, Darnall, Dore and Woodhouse for commuters and shoppers. The popular Sheffield Supertram system, which opened in 1994, also links the city centre with the suburbs.

EMPLOYERS

Urban and economic regeneration schemes began in the late 1980s to diversify the city's economy.

Sheffield is now a centre for banking and insurance functions with HSBC, Santander and Aviva having regional offices in the city. The city has also attracted digital start-ups, with 25,000 now employed in the digital sector, according to Sheffield City Council. The city is also home to two of the country’s largest universities, Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam University.

On the outskirts of the city the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) is a 100-acre manufacturing technology park, which is part of Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone. Employers here include McLaren, Rolls-Royce and British Steel.

POPULATION

Sheffield itself has a population of 560,000 people.

The metropolitan district of Sheffield is much larger, with more than 1.5 million people living in the surrounds of the city. The two high-quality universities situated in Sheffield bring in a new wave of young students every year. Both universities are ranked very highly within the UK and Europe, developing each year to attract more and more students to the area. With thousands of students coming to live and study in the area, there is a constant demand for student accommodation. Many students stay on in Sheffield to take jobs in the burgeoning hi-tech, financial and professional sectors.

As a contrast, the beautiful Winter Gardens, one of the largest glasshouses in Europe, create a green oasis in the heart of the city centre. The Peace Gardens, with its fountains and water features and the Botanical Gardens which date from 1836, also provide unique green addition to the city. This blend of old, new and green makes Sheffield a very popular retail and tourist destination.

THE CITY CENTRE

The regeneration of the city centre, epitomised by the £185m Heart of the City project which created a brand-new central professional and retail quarter, has been at catalyst for Sheffield’s economic revival and a magnet for investors.

3 St Paul’s Place, a 78,000 sq ft Grade A office building and part of the Heart of the City development, was recently sold to M&G Real Estate for £24 million. Its occupiers include civil engineers Arup, architects BDP and HLM, leading Swedish bank Handelsbanken and lawyers Freeths with rents at a record high. Meanwhile Heart of the City II, a £470m plan for hotels, shops, a food hall, public spaces and accommodation, is in the pipeline.

New and refurbished office space in the central professional core has been matched by state-of-the-art hotels and boutique restaurants, while locations on the periphery of the central core, such as the Round Foundry, Tower Works and Kirkstall Road, are proving equally popular with office and retail developers.

HOUSING

The regeneration of the city centre, the successful developments on its outskirts and the city’s resilient economy means that Sheffield has become a very desirable place to live and work during the past few years.

Not surprisingly, the demand for residential and commercial property has increased. According to Sheffield City Council, the demand for property including houses, shops, offices and rental property is increasing at a faster rate than it can be provided.

The strength and resilience of the private rental market can also be attributed to the limited number of high-quality centrally-located housing schemes currently available in Sheffield, especially when compared with other regional centres. One example of a successful housing development is the transformation of the Park Lane estate, once an area of social deprivation and now popular with young professionals.

CONCLUSION

Although Manchester is seen as the poster city of the Northern Powerhouse initiative, Sheffield is not far behind.

Its reinvention during the past two decades has been stunning. Despite the decline of the steel and the coal industries, the city now has a balanced and productive economy, straddling many sectors including advanced manufacturing, health and wellbeing and education, alongside a wide range of creative and professional services. This resurgence of confidence has been mainly due to a pro-active city council, working closely with residential and commercial property developers.

According to the city council, Sheffield’s economy is now worth £7bn a year. With a thriving city centre, including the proposed Heart of the City retail quarter, and a flourishing hinterland, there is every reason to expect the city to continue to prosper.

Average price of a house in Sheffield according to Zoopla is £201,521