Story by Andrew Green
In response to the many concerns raised by residents the Council have extended consultation about the Burngreave and Firvale Masterplan until April next year. The most vocal complaints came from traders on Spital Hill. They fear they will have no place in the proposed redevelopment, rentals in new buildings may be too high, customers will be lost while the area is blighted by demolition and rebuilding and a new supermarket may deprive them of key business.
At a recent meeting of the Burngreave Business Forum, attended by the Council, Paul of the Kashmir Restaurant said “Everyone wants progress, but the Masterplan is making us feel vulnerable.” John Vincent of the Burngreave Ashram and a New Deal board member, said radical change is needed, but not the demolition proposed.
“The Plan ignores what is already happening and has been rejected by Business Forum meetings.”
The planners insist they want to preserve the cultural diversity and richness which attracts people to Spital Hill. Councillor Jackie Drayton said improvements should benefit existing businesses.
Planners and New Deal’s John Clark said consultation shows a high demand for a supermarket, and operators are willing to set up in Burngreave. They claimed a supermarket is ‘vital’ for the success of any regeneration and promised no demolition will take place until they have absolute guarantees a supermarket will be built.
Owners of shops and other businesses say they have put in many years of hard work and investment to produce improvements that are already visible. Without a guarantee they will survive, talk of preserving cultural diversity and richness is meaningless.