Meadowhall 2024: Sports Direct and Frasers set for launch amid ongoing air pollution and flood concerns

Meadowhall is set to have its best year since 2021 when Sports Direct and Frasers open in 2024.

Next year will also see Zara move to The Avenue and together the three stores will give this wing of the megamall a major boost.

But, despite the PR spin, life is not always perfect at the centre in Tinsley. The closure of wilko on High Street has left a huge gap bosses are battling to fill. Zara’s move will do the same on upper High Street.

Then there’s the ongoing uncertainty around its sale. In September it was reportedly set to go on the market for £750 million, a decade after it was valued at nearly double that amount.

Co-owners British Land Norges, the Norwegian investment fund, hired CBRE to handle the sale, which was set to begin in the 'coming weeks', according to The Times. The claim was denied.

Other issues include air quality - Tinsley is notorious for filthy, life-limiting air and the M1 that runs past Meadowhall has a permanent 60mph limit to try to improve it. So far, the centre, which has 12,000 free parking spaces, has avoided scrutiny over its contribution to the problem locally and globally. 

But the first rumblings of a discussion started in 2023 when former council chief Nalin Seneviratne suggested imposing a £3 parking charge and using the money to fund culture in Sheffield city centre. It would see the company "playing its part" in recognition of the "negative impact" it has had on retail, he said.

At the time British Land said it had no plans to introduce a parking charge. It did not reveal how many cars visit each year or what it was doing to try to limit their numbers or impact on the environment.

But it did highlight its dedicated bus, train and tram stops, bike hub and electric vehicle charging points as greener ways to visit.

Flooding is another ever-present worry after it was famously inundated in 2007. Millions were spent on defences which are raised when river levels rise, most recently in October when storm Babet lashed the city. Most of the barriers are 4ft high, but a 15ft one on Meadowhall Drive, which takes a large team to install, shows how vulnerable the centre can be.

Away from bosses’ concerns, 2024 will see the focus of shopping fall on The Avenue.

Formerly Park Lane, it was the 'posh end' until a string of closures in 2021 - now its fortunes are on the up.

Sports Direct and Frasers are opening in the former Debenhams in 2024 and Zara is moving into the former House of Fraser in spring. Meadowhall bosses also say ‘new additions’ are in the pipeline.

The glass lift at the end of Park Lane is being shifted to the side to create a clear view down the mall, as part of the deal with Frasers Group. The newly-named The Avenue is also being ‘reinvigorated’ with new furniture, plants, and ‘more modern’ store frontages and signs.