Poor decisions led to Sheffield Fargate container park failure - report

The Fargate container park opened in October 2022 but closed just three months later.

A controversial shipping container complex failed due to poor decision making and a lack of governance, a report has found.

The container park on Fargate, in Sheffield, was intended as a pop-up space for food stalls and shops but was beset by delays and criticism.

The £500,000 council project opened in October 2022 but closed just three months later.

An audit into the scheme said there was a "serious lesson to be learned".

The report said the construction had "failed as the usual and defined procurement processes were not followed" and there was "poor or non-existent" financial monitoring.

It added: "The lack of controls and poor governance arrangements led to poor decision making and ultimately the project did not succeed."

It found that the "head of service ... did not have dedicated specialist skills, support and resource".

The report also highlighted a "significant amount" of senior management and political leader "churn" during the project, which it said had resulted in "a lack of evidenced governance, decision making and handover/continuity reporting".

The project was supposed to help encourage people back into the city centre after the pandemic

Analysis by Lucy Ashton, BBC Radio Sheffield political reporter

A "churn" of political leaders and senior managers. That's the word used in this review as being at the crux of the problem with the shipping containers.

This report shines a spotlight on the turmoil Sheffield council has been through in recent years, highlighting a "lack of governance and decision making".

The initial opening date for the containers was planned for January 2022 but multiple problems meant they didn't open for business until October.

Bob Johnson was council leader for the briefest of five months, before unexpectedly losing his seat in May 2021.

Then Terry Fox took the helm, but behind the scenes his leadership was coming under scrutiny by his own party.

By May 2022 trouble shooters from the National Executive Committee had put Sheffield Labour into special measures.

This all coincided with chief executive Kate Josephs being suspended from January to June 2022 following her involvement and subsequent fine for "Partygate".

Council staff turnover was also high, which impacted on the project being delivered effectively.

The shipping container complex was launched by Sheffield City Council using government funding and was designed to support post-pandemic economic recovery.

At one stage the council was spending about £17,000 a month on running costs - including £10,000 to cover fuel and hire of a generator because mains power cables were removed during repairs.

While the auditors stated they were not there to put blame on anyone, the report revealed that had the controls been in place, delays and subsequent costs could have been dealt with and managed more efficiently.

It was also added that the staff working on the project had felt a "now or never" mindset to use the available grants in order to increase footfall in the city centre post-Covid.

The report will be discussed at Sheffield Council's audit and standards committee on 23 November.