CREATIVE Sheffield chief executive Ian Bromley says the city will continue with its £multi-billion economic transformation plans, including the construction of 1.5 million sq. ft. of new Grade A office space, despite any concerns surrounding the 'credit crunch'.
Giving an update on the roll-out of the Economic Master Plan to the Sheffield First Partnership this week he said: "When we launched Sheffield's Economic Masterplan in January talk of an economic downturn had already started.
"However, after 10 years of success during which we saw record job growth, significant levels of inward investment and the fastest growing creative and digital and business services sectors in the country, Sheffield's economy is well placed to deal with a slow down.
"The Master Plan is for the next ten-to-fifteen years, a full economic cycle, so we would be foolish to prune our plans due to short-term concerns.
"In the past two economic downturns, Sheffield suffered worse losses than the nation as a whole. I am confident that this time around Sheffield is better positioned than most to weather economic turbulence. There is a large amount of construction taking place and in the pipeline.
"We haven't saturated the market with City Centre residential to the extent seen in other regional cities. And given the lower pound and the tremors in financial services, Sheffield's relative concentration in high value-added manufacturing and engineering will likely be a major strength."
As well as a report on progress since the launch of the Economic Master Plan in January, Ian's briefing to Sheffield First Partnership included a wide range of new initiatives to deliver the Plan. These included the launch of a major city marketing campaign, to be launched at the RE:Inventing
The City Conference at City Hall on 19th June, plans for a new executive education programme for local companies, and the launch of Wednesday Night Live, a series of events designed to animate the City Centre over the coming Summer.
Ian added "Sheffield is developing its product by building a significant amount of new quality offices and new industrial accommodation in the right locations and working on upgrading our skills base. When the upturn comes, as it inevitably will, we will be in a great position to achieve our long-term ambitions."
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