A long-overlooked part of Sheffield with ancient roots as far back as the Doomsday Book, Attercliffe is steeped in industrial and civic heritage. But the area is now looking ahead to a ‘spectacular’ new era, says unLTD’s Stella Bolam
Modern, ‘quirky’ business headquarters.
Green, open spaces. 
An ‘Andy Warhol vibe’.
‘Home to one of the most ‘exciting development opportunities in the north of England’.
Be honest – was Attercliffe the first area in Sheffield that sprang to mind when reading the above?
You’re probably not alone. Getting to Attercliffe from Sheffield city centre is straightforward and quick – (just nine minutes on the SuperTram or a few minutes by car) – but despite the close proximity, for generations this once-proud and booming district wasn’t really considered by many to be a destination (bar the various sex shops and massage parlours that have become synonymous with the area).
It’s a place that has had its fair share of neglect since the decline of its heavy industry economy and the housing, schools and communities that were connected to it also disappeared.
The 1990s saw major retail and leisure destinations including Meadowhall, Centertainment and FlyDSA Arena open, which helped to put Attercliffe back on the map.
Plus, this East End of Sheffield kept its industrial heart. For instance, Gripple the employee-owned, market-leading manufacturer of wire joiners, has remained loyal to its local birthplace which it still considers to be home. This multi award-winning company, inventor of the iconic Gripple joiner, has four bases in the Attercliffe area with 250 employees, all within easy reach of each other.
Gripple has demonstrated its commitment to the area’s industrial heritage and ongoing regeneration by transforming two original local factories – The Old West Gun Works (its original HQ) and the Hog Works – into modern, ‘quirky’ operations. A third contemporary building it developed, its Riverside production factory, has been described as an ‘Industrial Cathedral.’ Gripple’s latest development, a £2m conversion of a listed school building into a training academy, preserved many of the site’s educational features.
Times keep radically changing for Attercliffe – and going in a healthy direction. One of the vital cornerstones in the area’s latest resurgence has been created by Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park Ltd, a joint venture between Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Sheffield City Council, which was formed in 2015.
Facilities already in operation on the site include the English Institute of Sport Sheffield (EISS), iceSheffield, Don Valley Bowl, Oasis Academy Don Valley, UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, Community Stadium with 3G pitch and park environment with cycle paths and green open spaces, with more expansion set to come.
The Lower Don Valley area was the obvious location for regeneration following the closure of Don Valley Stadium in September 2013 and the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is a London 2012 Olympic Legacy Project for health and wellbeing research and learning. The four legacy themes from London 2012 are sport, local community, environment and economic regeneration and all these themes are being delivered at the Park.
Former Minister for Sport and Project Lead for Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, Richard Caborn, comments, “Through Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park we’re proud to be delivering four key themes from London 2012: Sport – improving infrastructure and providing access for all levels of ability; Community – providing opportunities in education, skills, training and jobs; Environment – enhancing the amount and quality of green space and promoting sustainable travel; and Economy – creating jobs and wider employment opportunities.”
David Slater, Director of Operations at Spaces Sheffield, was an early business investor – and strong believer – in Attercliffe, who in 1996 began buying disused commercial properties there. Over a ten-year period he transformed these abandoned places back into commercial use.
“I had this vision for Attercliffe gateway – that’s what I called it – to be as spectacular as it had been, in a very different way, all those years ago,” he explains. “I thought: ‘I’m going to do this because I believe in it and it’s going to work because it’s right.”
Slater now leases and manages various commercial spaces, totalling about 100,000 sq ft, including café and live music venue, The Library (a development which has revitalised Sheffield’s oldest library building built in 1894). Opened last October, the venue has already quickly established itself, not only as a local community hub serving delicious tapas made by head chef/owner Justin Brooks, but as a major destination for jazz and soul lovers from across Sheffield and beyond.
Crucially, it is a stone’s throw away from the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park. “There’s only one reason why this café is open – the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park. I’m confident, because it’s happened. It’s a knock-on effect. My company is called Spaces Sheffield for a reason – my thing is wherever I go I make the space I go to better than it was when I got there,” says Slater.
David’s future plans, still at drawing board stage, include opening an Italian café, La Banca, to be run by Justin and converted from an old TSB bank, and developing an apartment complex close by in Attercliffe centre. The vision is for the café to service these new residents, who would mainly be as David says “young families, returning retirees and keyworkers.”
The district of Attercliffe starts at Meadowhall and ends at the Wicker, and perhaps surprisingly, it’s the ‘city end’ of Attercliffe which is getting the least attention. For some businesses based there, that’s not all bad.
Specialising in providing design and e-commerce services, the If Collective team are newcomers to the area, based at this Wicker end of Attercliffe sharing a white-walled and high-ceilinged 1200 sq ft space at Waverley Works, in Effingham Street, alongside photographer Nigel Barker.
“It’s a great location, literally 10 minutes’ walk into town but at the same time we’re reasonably anonymous, which is intentional. We feel like we’re part of a Sheffield that often gets ignored,’ says Andy Turner, If Collective creative director. “It goes hand in hand with being liberated, having a space that doesn’t have any pretence attached to it.”
Their unit is housed within the Cromwell Tools building. “This isn’t a prefabricated building made to look like something from the past. It is from the past but it’s got a modern application,” says Andy. “I joke with most clients that we’re going for the Andy Warhol vibe here; it’s a proper factory. As funny as it sounds there’s a certain element of truth to it.”
Photographer Nigel Barker, who has worked from this space since 2003, appreciates the different perspective it gives him. “You feel like you’re part of the city, but you can step back from it too,” points out. “This section of Attercliffe is one of the least developed areas. It’s a diverse area. There’s a real mixture – industry, light industry and all sorts of other businesses here.”
Better public transport would be one way that Nigel sees the area could be improved, although on the plus side, he says “we do have parking here which probably wouldn’t get in the city centre.”
With all this talk about regeneration in a Sheffield context, the obvious question is: are we about to witness another Kelham Island emerging in the east end of the city?
“I think if Attercliffe was to be developed, I would hope it doesn’t become another Kelham Island. This side of town is ‘applied’ – it’s got UTC, it’s got the sports centres, it’s got international venues and then it’s got all the makers,” comment Andy. “This area should hold on to being ‘applied’. Attercliffe is unapologetic over what it is because it is still very much a working area.”
David Slater regards Attercliffe as a place with wider potential to create a thriving community than Kelham. “We’ve got a different kind of offer, for families, for retirees and for a multi-cultural mix. ‘You can fall out of your bed and go ice-skating, or go to the Arena or go for a walk down the canal – there’s so much opportunity.”
For the last 20 years he says “I never ever for one second doubted Attercliffe. I thought that if you look at what we’ve got, eventually everyone will see it.”
That vision may become a reality sooner than expected – especially given the recent news of another important site for regeneration in the area.
A 22-acre urban regeneration site, next to the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal, and billed as one of the most exciting development opportunities in the north of England, has gone on the market.
Acting on behalf of a consortium of three owners in Sheffield, CBRE’s Northern Land and Development team and Sheffield agents Fowler Sandford are marketing Attercliffe Waterside.
It will be familiar to thousands of people who use the canal each week as a popular running and walking route.
Councillor Mazher Iqbal, Cabinet Member for Business and Investment said: “This is a really important site for the regeneration of Attercliffe and the Lower Don Valley. It is a exciting opportunity for an imaginative team of developers to help us to make the East End of Sheffield a fantastic place to live as well as to build on the existing network of great places to work and play.
“As a proud East Ender, I can’t wait to see these improvements come forward and help to showcase the beauty of the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal for a new generation and springboard further regeneration and opportunity across the area.”
