The £446,000 Fargate Container Park development has opened in Sheffield City Centre today after months of delays.
The container park opened today at 11am, five days after its scheduled opening on Monday 17 October.
Vendors Get Wurst and Clapping Seoul are the first to open in the attraction, along with a bookshop.
There are still some businesses within the container park yet to open, including Mexican vendor ‘Fat Mex’, and brewery ‘Heist Brew’.
Speaking to the Sheffield star, Councillor Mazher Iqbal, Co-Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee, said: “This is what it was about for us, giving budding entrepreneurs an opportunity to set up a business.”
Sheffield City Council announced on Monday that the building teams had not yet received all the information they need from the operators to allow the containers to open, causing the delay.
Richard Eyre, Director of Streetscene and Regulations for Sheffield City Council, said: “I’m extremely disappointed to announce the container park on Fargate will not be opening on Monday as hoped.
“Until the outstanding information is received the container park cannot open. This information is national legislation needed for any building and the operator is legally required to provide it before the attraction can be open.”
Coun Iqbal is hoping the attraction will win round some of Sheffield’s residents who are more sceptical of the plan, saying “there’s something here for everybody”, but did admit the delay to the project had been “frustrating”.
Whilst Coun Iqbal admits the delay to the project had been “frustrating”, he hopes it will win round the Sheffield residents.
Sheffield’s long-delayed opening of the Container Park has been criticised after people have learned it may only run for a matter of weeks before it is possibly dismantled.
