Predictions for 2017: Creative Sheffield reports on the big economic drivers of 2016 and looks ahead to the next 12 months
Creative Sheffield, the economic development arm of Sheffield City Council, looks back at positive economic developments in 2016 what to watch out for in 2017.
It has been a year of great change, both nationally and closer to home. At a time when the EU referendum result has signalled a new direction for the UK, Sheffield has been forging ahead with its plans to accelerate the economy of the country’s fourth largest city.
Follow the city’s narrative in 2016 and you’ll see Sheffield as a city of makers, a capital of beer, a hub for outdoor adventurers, a grower of enterprise and a magnet for tech, digital and advance manufacturing businesses.
Creative Sheffield, the economic development arm of Sheffield City Council, looks back at positive economic developments in 2016 and ahead at what to watch out for in 2017.
Business Sheffield (Creative Sheffield’s business-facing support service) work with firms in the city to start up and grow; creating jobs and feeding Sheffield’s economy. In 2016, the service received 4,000 clients through its Gateway, delivered 3,000 hours of face-to-face contact with existing business clients and provided 1,300 hours of pre-start-up support. The council team have helped 400 early stage start-ups this year alone and worked with entrepreneurs to set up 100 new enterprises in the city.
Highlights for the team include supporting the Business Sheffield client Mobile Power go on to win Pitch@Palace at St James’ Palace in September, after beating off competition from hundreds of businesses from around the UK, including 100 other local businesses and partners.
Across the city, the most significant impact on Sheffield’s long-term economy this year was the Chinese investment deal, which saw the Sichuan Guodong Group announce a 60-year partnership with Sheffield City Council. This historic agreement, the first tranche of which is worth around £220m ($300m), is the biggest deal with a Chinese investment partner of any UK city outside London. It has the potential to create thousands of new jobs for the people of Sheffield.
The Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID) is bringing the region’s established strength for manufacturing and engineering into the 21st century. AMID’s development is making waves regionally and nationally with a growing reputation as the industrial spine of Sheffield City Region (SCR) and a critical economic driver for the north.
Collaboration between the public and private sector and Sheffield’s two leading universities is realising plans to create a vibrant place to live and work that will draw in world-class talent, entrepreneurs, innovators and investors. The nucleus of the Innovation District combines the Sheffield Business Park (SBP) and the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) with opportunities for further development, expansion and improved connections into Rotherham and Sheffield. The AMP/Waverley masterplan is anticipating growth of around 2million sq ft of employment floor space and 4,000 new homes, and the SBP has 1million sq ft of available employment land focussed on manufacturing, research facilities and technical services. This will attract an estimated 9,200 residents and create over 5,000 new jobs.
In March this year, the Olympic Legacy Park – a joint venture between Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield City Council and the private sector – received outline planning approval for its cutting-edge masterplan, which will see around 3,000 people work, learn and improve their fitness at the multi-million pound, 35-acre site at Attercliffe. Visible progress has already been made, with development of the Oasis Academy, Sheffield’s second University Technical College and the Indoor Arena.
A campaign led by Sheffield’s business community has also resulted in positive developments in plans for HS2, with the city centre’s Midland station now being the proposed location, backed by HS2’s executive chairman David Higgins. Sheffield Midland is also the proposed location for enhanced services to Leeds and Manchester under the Northern Powerhouse Rail project, helping to ensure the rail plans accelerate the economic growth of the SCR.
There has been a healthy dose of other investment in the city this year too. HSBC were announced as the anchor tenant for the first phase of the Sheffield Retail Quarter, with the multi-million pound deal comprising a 15-year lease for 140,000 sq ft of office space, including a rooftop terrace. The next phase of tenant announcements in 2017 is eagerly anticipated.
Elsewhere, the 3 St Paul’s Place development has enhanced the city centre’s dynamic business offer even further and has inspired businesses such as Handelsbanken to relocate. And Grey to Green – a regeneration scheme that has breathed new life into the city’s former inner ring road by creating a series of sustainable meadows and public art in Sheffield’s Riverside Business District – picked up no fewer than five awards in 2016.
Leisure and gaming company Rank Group also recognised Sheffield’s skilled and competitive work force, and its regeneration and development opportunities. For their new customer contact centre in Victoria Quays, Creative Sheffield’s Investment team supported the company’s move to Sheffield. To date, they have recruited 60 staff, with plans to increase this to over 100.
Skilled labour availability and potential for future expansion was also the driving force behind Barnsley-based Egress Software Technologies’ decision to open a second office in Sheffield at Electric Works.
Davy Markham, which is involved in the design, manufacture, fabrication and machining of heavy and complex engineering components and assemblies, is also investing £250,000 on the basis of potential work through HS2 opportunities.
They are one of just two companies to have secured ‘Innovation Deal’ monies through the SCR Skills Bank. Software company Zoo Digital is also relocating to larger premises at City Gate, with the potential to create 28 new jobs.
Schubert Technical Services, specialists in industrial finishing systems and surface coatings, relocated from Hartlepool and received financial support through the Business Investment Fund (BIF). And GDA Creative, a CDI business, have relocated to Fox Valley in Stocksbridge after outgrowing their previous premises in Barnsley.
In the retail sector, The Moor’s redevelopment is well underway and has brought with it a year-on-year increase in footfall for both The Moor Market (5%) and The Moor (5.4%). Quality traders, a series of successful events and the huge new Primark store have helped to draw more visitors to this area. The upward trend is set to continue with the opening of The Light Cinema next year.
Looking towards local employment, the 2016 Tech City UK report named Sheffield and Rotherham as one of 27 digital tech clusters in the UK, stating 14,313 digital tech jobs in the region and a boost of £273m GVA into the local economy. In total, Sheffield’s GVA increased by 2.4% this year to £11.3bn.
Meanwhile, The Outdoor City – an initiative that celebrates Sheffield’s fusion of big city life with the great outdoors and helps to attract and retain talent in the city – has grown in stature. The announcement in December that the Council is now looking for investors for Parkwood Springs (the former ski village) came as welcome news to those who are keen for the site to once again become a source of local pride and national acclaim.
The announcement was another feather in the cap of The Outdoor City, which has also welcomed this year; £100k investment into run routes across the city, the introduction of the Sheffield 10k, the city’s first dual slalom mountain bike track at Parkwood Springs, the 10th anniversary of Cliffhanger Festival (including the British Bouldering Championships) and greater collaboration with outdoor businesses.
When it comes to business conferences and events, Sheffield has had an outstanding year. The annual entrepreneurial festival MADE, which moved to a new home at the Crucible Theatre, was a resounding success in November. The Crucible also played host to the 10th edition of OFFSET, the conference that brings together the world’s most exciting designers and creative minds. Attracted by Sheffield’s creative strength, this was only the second time it had been held outside Ireland. It was a similar story of success for Sheffield Doc/Fest, the international documentary festival that takes over the city’s screens, stages and open spaces for six days each summer. Featuring international premieres from world-renowned documentary film-makers and including talks and Q+As with the likes of David Attenborough, Joanna Lumley, Ken Loach, Tilda Swinton and Louis Theroux, it attracted 32,700 delegates from over 60 countries for its 24th year in the city.
Cllr Leigh Bramall, deputy leader and cabinet member for Business and Economy at Sheffield City Council, said: “Looking back on 2016, it is clear to see that Sheffield’s world-class offer is attracting businesses growth and city-wide investment. The Chinese investment deal, the progress of AMID, the works commencing to the Sheffield Retail Quarter and OLP and the proposed central location of the HS2 station are huge achievements for the city and wider region and will make a big difference to the people who choose to live, work and study here in the coming years. The future is certainly looking bright for Sheffield.”
What to watch out for in 2017:
*Major investment announcements involving some of the world’s most advanced manufacturers and iconic brands.
*The Light Cinema opening on The Moor.
*A £60m Ikea store opening in Carbrook in July.
*The continued development of the Sheffield Retail Quarter.
*Kuckoo, a boutique bar chain based in Chester, taking over the former Tropeiro premises at Leopold Square and aiming to open in March.
*Developer interest in Parkwood Springs
*After the success of the first Outdoor City Weekender in 2016, the 2017 event, taking place 17-19 March, is set to be bigger and better. Headline events include Sheffield Adventure Film Festival (SHAFF), the Magnificent Seven cycling challenge, the Climbing Works International Festival (CWIF) and a brand new city centre mountain biking event – the Howard Street Dual. More announcements will be made in January.
*The 10th year of the Conference Ambassador Programme
*The Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID) will have a public launch in 2017, raising AMID’s profile and further developing international collaborations that deliver local opportunities for growth.
*Expansion of high-tech research facilities around Factory 2050 will continue to attract an ever-growing cluster of Europe’s leading manufacturers to the AMID.
*Development of Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) will continue throughout 2017 and form an integral part of the Innovation District. The 35 acre site in the Attercliffe area will provide a world-class research and innovation environment producing new products, processes and services in healthcare technologies, sports and exercise medicine with opportunities for synergies and functional links with the rest of the AMID.
*Business Sheffield events, programmes and services that support people to start-up and grow their business and help established businesses in the city respond to the Brexit agenda; tackling issues around export, talent retention and innovation.
