Sheffield Liberal Democrats welcome Electric Works plans

Sheffield Liberal Democrats have today welcomed council plans to attract increased business to the city, through opening the flagship Electric Works office building at the Sheffield Digital Campus to more prospective tenants.

The plans involve council officers developing a proposal to relax the letting policy for the building, after the departure of two key tenants, including Sky. This plan is hoped to entice further businesses to the central office space, by scrapping the requirement for the offices to house strictly digital businesses.

The dynamic building currently provides 53,000 square feet of flexible office space for forward thinking digital companies. This includes Climate 2025, which provides movement building support to environmental groups around the world, and Red Star 3D, a children’s film studio. While operated by the company Creative Space Management, the site is ultimately owned by Sheffield City Council.

The space, well located across from the train station, is part of the Sheffield Digital Campus, which also includes the office blocks Ventana House, Acero, and the currently under construction Endeavour building.

However, the departure of two large companies from the site has left a significant shortfall in the income of the building, costs which were expected to be passed back down to Sheffield City Council during a worrying financial time for the City. The shortfall on the building's rental income was predicted to total around £500,000 contributing around 2.5% to the City's total overspend of £20m.

Lib Dem Councillor Martin Smith, chair of the Economic Development and Skills policy committee, said of the plans "At this worrying financial time for the Council, it's important that we're using all of our resources flexibly and to the fullest, to ensure that residents are getting best value for their council tax. Having office space sitting there empty certainly isn't helping anyone, least of all the people of Sheffield who rely on the city having a thriving local economy.

I'm glad that we're able to adapt to the changing needs of the city. Between this and the upcoming second round of the Economic Recovery Fund, I'm confident that Sheffield will be able to weather the current economic storm."