Residents have their say on plans to relocate Sheffield city centre market

The outdoor market stalls on King Street are set to relocate due to the area being redeveloped with a 39-storey skyscraper on the former Primark site.

The 206-apartment block, named Kings Tower, will sit alongside phase 1 of Kings Buildings, which includes new retail and leisure space and the 131-bed easyHotel.

Sheffield Council is hoping to create a new space for the market stalls at Esperanto Place, which is a short street stretching from Arundel Gate down to Fitzalan Square.

Planning permission for the market development has been granted after the council submitted an application to its planning officers to use the site at Esperanto Place.

Sheffield city centre market could move to new location

King Street market currently has 18 stalls and two pitches selling a selection of goods each day.

On Monday, there is a second-hand market selling antiques and bric-a-brac, while Wednesdays are a second-hand clothes day; the other days are general market goods.

The move has been welcomed by the Sheffield markets team, who hope the new location will attract more footfall.

This is what residents in the city have said about the potential move.

Janet Hanwell said: “I would say think again! The market would have worked better in the empty for years Magistrates building; that's my opinion.”

Jenna Moorhouse said: “The town centre has been ruined, miss the old market's and can't stand the moor.”

Dale Easyd said: “Trying to destroy local businesses and Sheffield. Moving the market from Castle market put a load of businesses out of business.”

Graham Beck said: “There will not be any shops in the City centre soon, it will be one mass of apartments and student accommodation. We will all have to travel to Meadowhall or Leeds to shop.”

Paul Hitchen said: “Put it in the John Lewis Building; most of the amenities are already in place. Toilets, lifts, escalators. Cafe loading bays very central wouldn't take much sorting out at all. Sheffield City Council, start thinking outside the box for once.”

Simon Templar said: “When a market goes, the town dies. Over the many years, it's been slowly taken away; the city is dead with no life in it.

"The market we have is nothing to what we had once. At one time, we had day trips coming into Sheffield for our market days, but the town itself has gone, there is nothing to attract people there no more."

Jules Lupton said: “I used to love going to the markets when I was younger, when they moved, it spoiled it.”

Toryn Kershaw said: “Build a new castle market similar to how it was before.”

The move will likely mirror that of Castle Market in 2013, which was replaced by Sheffield’s Moor Market after trading for 54 years in the area.

Sheffield Council were contacted for a comment but did not respond at the time of publication.

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