Park

The sun shone and it finally felt like spring. A handful of people sat on contemporary seating, mostly looking at their mobile phones, and two down-at-heel men basked in the sunshine and said what a lovely place it was. A City Centre Ambassador joked with them, but warned that she wouldn’t tolerate street drinking, or ‘needles,’ under any circumstances.

The sound of children filled the air. They excitedly climbed the three-by-eight metre climbing boulder, reminiscent of a Peak District rockface, and played on two large pyramids, stainless steel slides, climbing structures, playhouses, a seesaw, and wheelchair-accessible play equipment.

Sheffield’s latest green space has opened in time for Easter. Pounds Park, on the site of the old Wellington Street Fire Station and Headquarters, is named after John Charles Pound (1834 -1918) who was the city’s first Fire Superintendent responsible for laying the foundations of Sheffield’s modern fire service.

It may have to temporarily close later this month to allow for power and water connectivity that will allow new public toilets to open and for water play features to be turned on.

*Pounds Park – Day and Night.* *All images: DJP/2023*

Stepney Street is a small road leading off Broad Street in the Park area of Sheffield.

Originally land owned by the Duke of Norfolk, it succumbed to cobbled-street slum housing, was shortened in length after redevelopment in the 1930s, and modern-day access restricted to a private car park and a garage business. Significantly, the railway line runs directly beneath it.

Housing on the street, along with those at Old Street, Bard Street, School Lane, Duke Street, Crown Alley, Crown Alley Lane, Bernard Street, Weigh Lane and Broad Street, were compulsorily purchased in 1934, demolished and redeveloped.

Photograph of Stepney Street, looking towards Broad Street, by Picture Sheffield

The surviving part of Stepney Street, with its cobbles, might become a residential area again, with a proposed new development of 100 apartments, a planning application submitted to Sheffield City Council by Six Developments, supported by architects’ practice Cadenza.

The gated building would be eight-storeys high featuring 100 private rental sector (PRS) apartments. A total of 95 one-bed flats would be provided, together with four studios and a single two-bedroom unit.

Watkin Jones previously secured planning permission for a development of 62-bed apartment building in December 2017, but this scheme was not brought forward. The developer had originally acquired the site to provide car parking for its Pinnacles Development.

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