Council seeks extra funding to clamp down on traffic through city centre
Sheffield City Council is proposing to commit further funds to make Division Street — closed to motor traffic during the Covid pandemic — a permanent pedestrian and cycling corridor. The move forms part of a broader strategy to reshape the city centre around cleaner air, better public transport access and improved links between the university and surrounding neighbourhoods.
The street was shut between Westfield Terrace and Rockingham Street under an experimental traffic regulation order (ETRO) in June 2020 and the ETRO has now been made permanent. Officers are now asking councillors to approve an increase in the project budget from £126,000 to £170,000 to deliver revised permanent proposals after an initial scheme was dropped.
- The closure originally rerouted buses and helped coordinate diverted traffic while other city centre streets were restricted.
- Council papers say the permanent closure is intended to make it easier for people to walk, wheel and cycle between the city centre, the university and nearby neighbourhoods.
- Funding is also being directed to measures intended to support local businesses and hospitality by improving the public realm and encouraging visitors to shop in the area.
"This assisted in the co-ordination of diverted traffic by re-routing buses around the city centre to enable the closure of Upper Pinstone Street to motor vehicles,"
The council report presented to the finance and performance policy committee highlights how the temporary arrangement had broader traffic-management benefits, including enabling the closure of nearby Upper Pinstone Street. Councillors are due to consider the increased allocation at the committee meeting next Monday, with officers also looking to secure external funding from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to help deliver the scheme.
Plan revised after initial proposal was abandoned
An initial permanent scheme for Division Street has been scrapped in favour of a revised plan. Council documents provided to local reporters indicate the additional funding will be used to develop that revised proposal and to provide measures aimed at bolstering the city centre economy, particularly the hospitality and retail sectors that rely on footfall.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Original project budget | £126,000 |
| Proposed revised budget | £170,000 |
Officers frame the permanent closure as part of a wider ambition to create a greener city centre with cleaner air and improved access to public transport. The report explicitly links the intervention to efforts to make it simpler for pedestrians and cyclists to move between the university precinct and the retail and leisure heart of the city.
Local business groups and traders will watch the committee decision closely. While the council says funds will be used to support hospitality and retail outlets by making the area more welcoming, the impact of permanent traffic restrictions on deliveries, servicing and vehicle access remains a practical concern for some city centre operators.
If councillors approve the budget increase, the council will proceed with detailed design work and seek the additional funding from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to deliver the scheme in full. The precise timescale for construction and implementation has not been set out in the committee papers.
This development ties into a longer-running debate in Sheffield about how best to balance access, air quality and economic vitality in the city centre now that some pandemic-era interventions have become entrenched. The decision next week will determine whether Division Street remains a permanent feature of that evolving urban landscape.
