A look at how Kelham Island in Sheffield has changed

The Star, Sheffield

The Star took a tour around Kelham Island to see how it's changed over the years.

Transcript

00:00Kellam Island is one of Sheffield's most up-and-coming neighbourhoods.

00:04What was once known as the heart of the steel industry

00:07is transforming into one of the trendiest areas in the city.

00:10While you can still catch a glimpse of its rich history in the streets and museum,

00:15there is one pub that is still keeping its heritage at the waist of its art.

00:19Dating back to the Victorian era, this is the Fat Cat.

00:23For more than four decades it's remained an independent pub.

00:26My dad set it up in 1982.

00:29Kellam Island was a very different place back then.

00:31It was industrialised, very poor.

00:35It was red light districts and so on and so forth.

00:38So Kellam Island's changed massively.

00:41But the pub's stayed the same.

00:43Same values, same offer.

00:46Good food, good beer and a nice quiet place to come and have a drink.

00:50I've grown up around this pub, playing football in the car park,

00:53coming here eating Chris Ham sandwiches and drinking beer a bit early.

00:57A bit naughty sometimes, but it's just part and parcel of life.

01:02It's part of me and part of my family and I'll be looking to pass it on to my son

01:06when he grows old enough.

01:09It's a nice area now, with the houses and the bars and the cafes.

01:15It's well placed, it's near the station, it's just outside the centre.

01:21You've got great buses, you can walk to anywhere basically, which is a massive help.

01:27And then all the people that come down to set up new businesses,

01:30they're all nice people with nice businesses.

01:32It's nice to see people thriving.

01:34And then it's nice to see people coming down to support those independent businesses,

01:37which is what Kellam Island has been built on and should be built on,

01:41in small independent businesses.

01:43And one thing is for sure, Kellam Island is a haven for independent businesses.

01:48It's becoming the go-to place for food, drink and nightlife,

01:52but how are new independent business owners finding it?

01:55It's great, I really love the community, it's always busy.

02:02It doesn't seem like you're in Sheffield a lot of the time when you're down here.

02:06It's got a very European feel to it, I think, especially on Little Kellam.

02:12We were after this particular location for a long time before we opened

02:16because we were so set and we just had a vision of what we wanted to do here

02:21and the location was just perfect for that.

02:24It's part of the situ development here as well, which is an eco development,

02:29where everything is very environmentally friendly, fits in with the philosophy of our bakery as well.

02:35Only in July, the council approved plans for 500 new homes

02:39on the former Cannon Brewery site on Ratnam Road.

02:42Looks like this urban neighbourhood is far from nearing the end of its redevelopment.

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