The Sheffield Drop 💧 Friday, July 4
As we head towards the weekend, today's Sheffield Drop features: A city centre food hall closing after just a few months, footfall concerns for a crucial development, and a tragic infant death.
My name is Andrew. I am a journalist based in Sheffield, and I’ll be providing you with all the latest developments in the Steel City. Let’s get into it.
📰 The News
🍽 Sheffield food hall Department has closed just eight weeks after it opened. It replaced Kommune in Castle House, but vendors were told on Monday they had to pack up and leave — Lyra Auld, YorkshireLive
💷 Sheffield City Council is forecasting a £7.7 million shortfall in its budget in 2026-27, and a £69.6 million shortfall between 2026-29 and 2029-30. The council thinks it can save £45 million by 2028-29 — Sheffield City Council
👉 The increase is largely driven by soaring adult social care spending, which has risen by 50% since 2021 to £6.2 million per week.
👉 The new medium-term budget will be discussed at the Strategy and Resources Committee on 10 July 2025. More information here.
☕ Marmadukes’ owner Tim Nye says footfall in the council’s flagship Heart of the City development is “really disappointing and a worry”. Of the 69 units in the development, just 35 are occupied — Lucy Ashton, BBC News
➕ The children of Marcia Grant — a foster carer who was killed by the child she cared for — said she was “failed” by Rotherham Council. An inquest found the council’s shortcomings contributed to her death — Hannah Al-Othman, The Guardian
👶 South Yorkshire Police has launched an investigation into the tragic death of a one-year-old child in Gleadless. Emergency services were called to a property on Overend Way on Wednesday evening — Sebastian McCormick, YorkshireLive
🦉 Six Sheffield Wednesday players have handed in their notice over unpaid wages. The club also owes scheduled payments for the transfers of Shea Charles and Akin Famewo — Mike McGrath & John Percy, The Telegraph
👉 It means the club is now under three transfer embargoes, one due to unpaid wages, one relating to an unpaid HMRC amount, and a final embargo for unpaid transfer fees — Joe Crann, Sheffield Star
👨🏫 Teachers at schools run by the Outwood Grange Academies Trust — including Outwood Academy City — will continue to strike over proposals to extend the school day — David Spereall, BBC News
🚮 A skip has appeared outside The Leadmill after the venue closed last weekend. Director Phil Mills has said he will empty the building of all the fixtures and fittings — David Walsh, Sheffield Star
⭐ The council is proposing to bring back the Sheffield Legends scheme, which will see the city’s greatest achievers given a plaque outside the Sheffield Town Hall — Sheffield Council
🛫 Lee Pitcher MP says Ryanair will talk to Fly Doncaster about joining the Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Fly Doncaster will manage the airport, which is due to reopen next year — Darren Burke, Doncaster Press
💻 SCI Semiconductor has received a £2.5 million investment as the Sheffield start-up aims to create the first ‘memory safe’ computer chip — Chris Newbould, Prolific North
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What’s on this weekend
🎙 Podcast festival Crossed Wires is coming to Sheffield this weekend. With live shows, a BBC Sounds Fringe stage in the Cole Brothers’ building, and a local stage in Leah’s Yard, it is set to celebrate some of the biggest names in the podcasting world — Crossed Wires Festival
🍕 Peddler Market returns for another month. The Sheffield staple event takes place from Friday evening to Saturday evening, featuring the best food and drink stalls you’ll find in the city — Peddler Market
🍻 The British Oak in Mosborough is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Oakstock. Live music on Friday night and all day Saturday, there will be plenty of food, drinks and children’s entertainment — British Oak Alehouse
⚽ Fancy learning more about Sheffield’s football history? On Saturday, you can go on a guided walking tour titled “Sheffield — The Birthplace of Football”. Tickets cost £5, and the walk lasts 90 minutes, starting from the National Emergency Services Museum — Sheffield Home of Football
🔗 Top three links from the last edition
The pedestrianisation of Pinstone Street will now cost £27 million, almost double the £14 million initially budgeted — Lucy Ashton, BBC News
Loxley Nurseries, a garden centre on Long Lane in Loxley, will close after 25 years of trading at the end of August — David Kessen, Sheffield Star
Chris Brain, a former priest of the Nine O’Clock Service in Sheffield, engineered a “cult” to sexually abuse women in the 1980s and 1990s, Inner London Crown Court has heard — Andrew Dowdeswell, YorkshireLive
🗞 Thanks for reading edition number 14 🗞