What if Heart of the City was Replicated in Castlegate?
- Date
-
Wed 30 April 2025
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
- Venue
- Department (formerly Kommune)
In partnership with Sheffield Society of Architects, Friends of Sheffield Castle, Sheffield Civic Trust and Sheaf & Porter Rivers Trust
As the massive Heart of the City (HoC) II regeneration project comes to a close, this event will look at both its positive impacts and what lessons can be learnt, considering how these might be applied to another city centre area which is about to undergo transformational change: Castlegate.
Castlegate’s challenges are in many ways the consequence of decisions to consolidate retail and residential investment in HoC, leaving Sheffield’s oldest quarter with an uncertain role. Yet it remains the home of the courts, many city centre hotels and a number of large council-owned development plots, with a number of confirmed and significant new projects such as Harmony Works, S1 Artspace and the new park on the site of Sheffield Castle.
The day is designed to encourage debate within Sheffield about high-quality urban development and place-making, focusing on two significant areas in the city centre. The event will be in two parts, with the morning reviewing the progress and outcomes of HoC and the afternoon considering how lessons from that work could inform the future plans in Castlegate. In particular, we’ll look at how development can build on what is different or special about Sheffield.
Event Format & Information
- Doors open 9:30am, start time 10am
- Introduction talk from the front of the room. People are expected to sit and listen and can move around if they need.
- Breaks with free hot drinks and a break for lunch which will be provided
- Workshop where people sit and discuss in groups - participation is expected.
- End time 4pm
If you have any questions regarding accessibility for this event, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]
Director of Investment, Climate Change and Planning, Sheffield City Council
Interim Head of Regeneration, City Growth Department, Sheffield City Council
Local historian and retired town planner, former Head of City Regeneration 2002–18 and Programme Director Castlegate Kickstart 2018–21 for Sheffield City Council. Current Chair of the Sheaf and Porter Rivers Trust and Convener of the Sheffield Waterways Strategy Group.
Chair of the Friends of Sheffield Castle, a voluntary group set up to protect and promote the history and remains of Sheffield Castle. Martin has lived and worked in Sheffield and South Yorkshire all his life, working in the financial sector for over 40 years.
Formerly partner at international law firm CMS and non-executive director of AESSEAL plc, Martin has more recently helped to establish the Sheffield Property Association, chairing it between 2017 and 2024, showcasing the city at home and abroad. Martin is the current chair of the Castlegate Partnership and a member of the Castlegate Area Board, working on the regeneration of Castlegate. He is vice-chair of the Sheffield Cultural Collective, an organisation placing culture and creativity at the heart of Sheffield’s economic and social future. He also has a broad portfolio of charitable and voluntary work as a trustee of St Luke’s Hospice, Whirlow Hall Farm Trust and The Herbert Hughes Memorial Fund. Martin served a three-year term as a private sector board member of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and the Transport for the North Partnership Board, and was the High Sheriff of the County of South Yorkshire in 2021/22.
