Funding boost for Castlegate area

Funding worth almost £800,000 has been granted to transform Sheffield’s historic Castlegate Quarter, with work to begin on the Old Town Hall and a bid to uncover the remains of the city’s castle.The £786,000 kickstart funding has been granted by the council’s Capital Growth Fund and will enable a number of projects to transform the area over the next 18 months and give it new lease of life as a centre for digital businesses and hotels.The cash will allow for an archaeological dig on the site of Sheffield’s medieval castle, extensions to the Grey to Green corridor and the transformation of empty shops around the area.It will also contribute to action to protect the Old Town Hall and the establishment of a Conservation Area.Sheffield City Council, Friends of the Castle, Friends of the Old Town Hall, the two Universities, hoteliers, retailers and the Culture Consortium have worked together to develop a vision of the future of Castlegate.The plans aim to reveal its hidden history and landscape but also to promote its new economic functions as the location for start-up tech and creative enterprise, using its rich stock of vacant or underused buildings.