Harmony Works Sheffield: New music centre gets £1.6m funding boost, as youth club set for £1.5m refurbishment

A list of schemes was approved at a meeting of the council’s finance committee (September 12).

The council is using £1.6m of government Levelling Up Funding to help Harmony Works buy Canada House on Commercial Street in the city centre and convert it into a centre for young people to learn and perform music. The grant is subject to project leaders Sheffield Music Academy and Sheffield Music Hub securing match funding for the scheme.

Design works for a pedestrian crossing at the junction of Crookes Road and School Road, Crookes will cost £198,000. The need for safer crossing points on the boundaries of the Crookes-Walkley Active Travel Neighbourhood was identified through public consultation, a report to the committee said.

There will also be an increase of £465,000 for staff time and monitoring spent on the Active Travel Neighbourhoods in Nether Edge and Crookes/Walkley. The Crookes/Walkley scheme in particular has proved controversial, with many local residents unhappy at road closures and ward councillors complaining about levels of public engagement.

The committee report said: “Since implementation, due to the high levels of extra staff time and monitoring undertaken, coupled with the need for communications support in dealing with consultations required throughout the implementation of the scheme, there has been a significant cost increase on this scheme.”

A625 safety

A total of £108,400 from a £1.425m budget from the Department of Transport Safer Roads Fund will be spent on investigating safety measures for the A625 Ecclesall Road and Ecclesall Road South.

In the past five years, there have been 121 collisions involving injuries along the route, between the A61 and the B6375 Whirlowdale Road, with 62% of these involving pedestrians and cyclists.

The council has secured to improve road safety and reduce the risk to road users.

Analysis has found introducing more road safety measures on the road could prevent more than 60 deaths and serious injuries over the next 20 years.

The Five Weirs Walk and cycle route in the Lower Don Valley will benefit from resurfacing of one area, widening parts of the route and other minor works. This will be delivered at a cost of £64,400 in SUSTRANS charity funding, a cut in the original budget of £44,600.

The Streets Ahead highways budget will be increased by £435,000 to fund a rolling programme of works requested by the council’s seven Local Area Committees.

Spending of £15,600 was agreed on a new Changing Places toilet for Millhouses Park, designed for people with limited mobility who need space to change incontinence pads.

Burton Street Project in Hillsborough, who visit the park, have supported the proposal.

The aim is to site the building close to the other toilets by the boating lake and cafe.

Youth clubs

All Saints Youth Club in Burngreave will benefit from a £640,000 government grant to fund its refurbishment and Stocksbridge Youth Club will be refurbished at a cost of £1,545,000.

The work has to be completed at both clubs by December 2024 to secure the funding.

Changes to a plan to improve Ellesmere Park play facilities will cost £43,500. This covers the cost of new playground equipment and refurbishing the basketball courts.

The committee agreed to spend £2 million to buy 16 three-bedroom leasehold properties in Gleadless Valley. This is part of the £90m Gleadless Valley Masterplan to regenerate the area with new housing, green spaces, shops and services.

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Some housing will be demolished to make way for the building of new homes and other housing in the area will be refurbished.

Work on city schools includes a feasibility study on proposed changes to Broomhill Nursery to create integrated facilities for up to 18 pre-school children with Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND).

Expansion of Wharncliffe Side Primary School costing £1.4m would provide an increase in pupil numbers from 140 to 210, in order to serve a housing development of more 300 homes being built in the school catchment area.

Another £550,000 needs to be spent on the roof of Nether Green Junior School because of unexpected problems while work has taken place on the listed building.