Member Article

Planning granted for new IKEA store in Sheffield set to create over 400 new jobs

IKEA and Sheffield City Council have announced that permission has been granted for a new IKEA store at the former Tinsley Wireworks.

The proposal will create up to 400 new jobs, in addition to 200 construction jobs and 80 associated jobs such as cleaners, crèche workers and landscape maintenance.

It is estimated that the IKEA store in Sheffield will generate a gross value added to the local economy of £6 million annually, despite complaints being made by lobby groups, including John Lewis nearby.

The store would be of a similar scale to IKEA’s largest UK stores and stock the full IKEA range of 9,500 home furnishing products.

IKEA has a requirement for a new store to specifically serve the Sheffield and surrounding South Yorkshire/North Derbyshire sub-region (including other centres such as Rotherham, Doncaster, Chesterfield, and Barnsley).

Cllr Leigh Bramall, Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development said: “We are delighted to welcome IKEA to Sheffield and I know that many people will be pleased that they will have a store located locally, rather than having to travel to Leeds or Nottingham.

“It is great news that will bring new jobs to the city and encourage more people to spend their money in Sheffield rather than elsewhere.

“This new store is a vote of confidence in our city and we have always said that we welcome an IKEA store coming to Sheffield. As there is an increasing amount of development in that part of the city, it was always important for us to work with IKEA to tackle issues such as increased congestion head on rather than leaving them to build up over the next few years.

“Now we have done that we have the prospect of an exciting development in the city and I look forward to welcoming another major retailer into the city and the boost it will bring to the local economy.”

Steve Pettyfer, deputy property manager, IKEA UK&IE said: “We are delighted that the Sheffield City Council has supported our decision to come to Sheffield. It recognises the significant contribution an IKEA store will bring to the local economy and jobs market.

“We considered the various comments raised by local stakeholders and residents to ensure that our proposals met the needs of both IKEA and the surrounding community.

“We look forward to the issuing of the planning consent so we can begin working on detailed plans for the development.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .