Sheffield Fargate Container Park location to be reviewed

The eight containers on Fargate were intended to provide space for street food stalls, shops and events

A shipping container complex in Sheffield is to be reviewed by the council after a series of failures led to delays and unexpected costs.

The eight containers on Fargate were intended to provide space for pop-up street food stalls, shops and events.

More than £420,000 has been spent, including unplanned costs of relocating it to maintain access to sewers, which led to the venue opening being delayed.

One councillor described the container park project as "a shambles".

However, councillors were told the park, which was aimed at supporting post-pandemic economic recovery, was now trading well and agreed to keep it open until after Christmas.

First-floor bar shelved

In a report to the authority's strategy and resources committee, officials suggested traders on the ground floor would be allowed to continue operating until at least 1 January 2023, but any further building work would be paused.

They agreed to look again in January at when and where the complex should move. Pans to add a first-floor bar and terrace have been shelved for now.

The council is currently spending about £17,000 a month in running costs, including £10,000 to cover fuel and hire of a generator after contractors discovered mains power cables had been removed during emergency repairs.

"This had not been known in the planning phase, so the requirement for a generator only became identified during the build phase," the report stated.

"There is a further £75,500 of costs for services that have been provided but not yet invoiced. However, there are still further outstanding costs that are yet to be quantified to complete the build."

Traders on the ground floor would be allowed to continue operating until at least 1 January 2023, a report said

During a special meeting on Tuesday, councillors heard the authority had not been informed the underground cables had been removed two years ago and it had been paying an electricity bill all that time.

Lib Dem councillor Martin Smith described the errors as "embarrassing" and said: "Why has this gone so badly wrong? It's been a shambles."

Green Party councillors said they did not want the authority "throwing good money after bad".

The project was hampered early on with the original installation date being pushed back from 6 May to 5 August after Yorkshire Water raised concerns over the sewers.

The opening of the ground floor was also delayed "in order for essential safety information to be provided by the operator to the council's Building Control service", the report said.

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