Broomhill rooftop car park: Parking blow as shoppers hit by temporary closure of Sheffield car park

Shoppers in a popular Sheffield retail area have been dealt another parking blow.

People heading for Broomhill for shopping, or to have their hair done, have seen the number of parking spaces fall further this month, because the area's large rooftop car park has been temporarily shut.

The facility, which is located above the row of shops which includes big name retailers Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Boots, has now been closed for over a week.

Bosses at shops located there, who foot the bill for the work, say it is expected to be closed for another week, and that the closure has been because it is being resurfaced.

Mark Williamson, who runs Williamson's Hardware, raised concerns the lack of parking may put people off shopping in the area, and urged people to stick with the shops.

He said you could see shoppers getting frustrated when they realised the car park was out of action.

The Star asked shoppers what their views were of the current parking situation.

Mum Kate Iles, from Lodge Moor, usually uses the rooftop car park. She described the parking situation as a nightmare.

She said she meets other mums for coffee in Broomhill. She added: "Sometimes I'm half an hour late because I can't find anywhere to park. When you've got a baby and a time schedule, it's quite difficult."

Bob Purdy, from Ranmoor, said he always parked out the outskirts of Broomhill and walked down from a side road. He said he had not parked in the car park above the shops for several years because he feared receiving a fine from the operator.

Raymond Beck, from Broomhill, said he thought it was better if people could park to support the local shops.

Hayley Dennell, of Fulwood said she parked on a side road and paid on a meter, which she found quite easy.

Sheffield Council announced in June that it was pushing ahead with plans to permanently pedestrianise parking spaces in the precinct despite objections from the local community.

The authority removed 11 parking spaces, leaving two disabled bays, to increase space for pedestrians at the Broomhill shopping precinct to enable social distancing at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

There was immediate backlash from residents and businesses including a petition by Williamson Hardware that gathered more than 1,300 signatures saying the loss of parking would be "devastating" to trade and calling for it to be returned.

Despite this, the council kept the measure in place and now plans to make it permanent, saying the benefits outweigh the concerns.