Sheffield Retail Quarter (ex-"Sevenstone") MEGATHREAD

[mapleboy]

Or maybe it's because Croydon is a much lower financial risk than Sheffield?

Based on the other developments Hammerson's have been doing, I can't help but think that Sevenstone's is, at the very best, a marginal proposition for them. Given the total lack of progress, it must currently be un-viable and has been for several years.

 

So why they don't just man up and say so, pull out and let someone else have a go at something smaller is beyond me. You'd think SCC, if they had the best interests of the city at heart, would be pushing for that, wouldn't you? Not setting a deadline and then letting Hammerson's basically give them the finger shows what an inept bunch they are.

 

Or maybe they're just bent. Not that I would suggest such a thing of course.

[JFKvsNixon]

Based on the other developments Hammerson's have been doing, I can't help but think that Sevenstone's is, at the very best, a marginal proposition for them. Given the total lack of progress, it must currently be un-viable and has been for several years.

 

So why they don't just man up and say so, pull out and let someone else have a go at something smaller is beyond me. You'd think SCC, if they had the best interests of the city at heart, would be pushing for that, wouldn't you? Not setting a deadline and then letting Hammerson's basically give them the finger shows what an inept bunch they are.

 

Or maybe they're just bent. Not that I would suggest such a thing of course.

 

I think that they're waiting for signs of a recovery in the high street, so they'll be a lot surer of making a profit, or even make a bigger profit on the scheme.

[Jeffrey Shaw]

But they might be waiting for a long time; so I hope that they can afford the interest charges.

[JFKvsNixon]

But they might be waiting for a long time; so I hope that they can afford the interest charges.

 

Which are probably currently a lot lower than they would be having paid for the redevelopment, and they then find themselves struggling to rent out the shops.

[lil-minx92]

Based on the other developments Hammerson's have been doing, I can't help but think that Sevenstone's is, at the very best, a marginal proposition for them. Given the total lack of progress, it must currently be un-viable and has been for several years.

 

So why they don't just man up and say so, pull out and let someone else have a go at something smaller is beyond me. You'd think SCC, if they had the best interests of the city at heart, would be pushing for that, wouldn't you? Not setting a deadline and then letting Hammerson's basically give them the finger shows what an inept bunch they are.

 

Or maybe they're just bent. Not that I would suggest such a thing of course.

 

Business reasons- it wont cost much (in the whole scheme of things) to sit on things until such time as it becomes viable- either through an improved market or SCC throwing more money their way. It's a little nest egg for the future. They care nothing about how the city centre declines and gets left further behind other retail centres in the meantime. And SCC have presided over this whole affair that has left us where we are today.

[Jonny5]

Or maybe it's because Croydon is a much lower financial risk than Sheffield?

Clearly. The two developments are of a similar scale though so it doesn't exactly show the running of our retail sector in a good light does it? Croydon makes Mansfield look like Bond Street.

[JFKvsNixon]

Clearly. The two developments are of a similar scale though so it doesn't exactly show the running of our retail sector in a good light does it? Croydon makes Mansfield look like Bond Street.

 

The financial crisis has hit the North harder than the South, with a lot of jobs in the North more dependant on government spending. When you add that to the fact that Sheffield is surrounded by cities with strong commercial city centres, such as Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham, as well as taking Meadowhall in into account, the blame for which can be laid at of successive councils. It's not hard to see why the developers would put their eggs into the Croydon basket.

[ormester101]

The financial crisis has hit the North harder than the South, with a lot of jobs in the North more dependant on government spending. When you add that to the fact that Sheffield is surrounded by cities with strong commercial city centres, such as Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham, as well as taking Meadowhall in into account, the blame for which can be laid at of successive councils. It's not hard to see why the developers would put their eggs into the Croydon basket.

 

croydon is like a dead end of london

[JFKvsNixon]

I've just been looking at Croydon on Wiki, and it's obvious as why they are pushing ahead with this development over Sheffield. It states that as well as being the second-largest place to shop in the south east, Croydon is considered to be London's third main business district behind the Square Mile and the Docklands, and South London's main business centre.

 

The Croydon development carries very little risk of failure as it is taking place in a very well established economic centre.

[mapleboy]

The financial crisis has hit the North harder than the South, with a lot of jobs in the North more dependant on government spending. When you add that to the fact that Sheffield is surrounded by cities with strong commercial city centres, such as Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham, as well as taking Meadowhall in into account, the blame for which can be laid at of successive councils. It's not hard to see why the developers would put their eggs into the Croydon basket.

I don't think there's any blame to be apportioned to the success of Meadowhall versus the lack of success in the city centre.

 

The blame lies squarely with SCC's refusal to permit big firms like Next develop within the city in a location that isn't within the sacred cow (or more accurately, dead duck) that they see the city centre as being.

 

As I've said before, internet shopping has made a mess of the High Street, it's way past time SCC realised this and adjusted the flawless* masterplan.

 

*nonsensical in the light of the current economic reality.