Residents of the town said a lack of investment in recent years has seen shops close and businesses drawn elsewhere
Janet Pilkington was born and bred in Stocksbridge(Image: Andrew Dowdeswell / YorkshireLive)
Residents in a South Yorkshire town have issued stark warnings about deteriorating living standards, shuttered shops and fewer jobs as move people move elsewhere.
Stocksbridge, in the north of Sheffield, was once a thriving steelwork town. Samuel Fox established a wire works there in 1842. Over 180 years on, Liberty Speciality Steel continues to operate a steel mill locally, but according to residents, it no longer generates the brings in business like it once did for the community.
“When I was a child it was absolutely buzzing,” said one resident, who wished to remain anonymous. “We used to have buses coming in three times a day with workers from Barnsley, Penistone and other places. They were rammed.”
She said the town has been neglected by investment in recent years, resulting in shop closures and businesses being drawn elsewhere. “There were shops all down here,” she said, pointing towards the high street, reports Yorkshire Live.
“There were bakers, green grocers, butchers. Now it’s just a lot of takeaways. It’s sad to have seen it decline like that.”
She said workers, including her husband, used to collect their wages on Thursdays, before doing their shopping for the week on Fridays. Much of the money earned was spent in the local economy.
Stocksbridge is one of only 25 areas in South Yorkshire to see its population fall over the last 20 years. As of the 2021 census, the population has fallen by 3.8 per cent over the previous 20 years.
Meanwhile, South Yorkshire’s overall population has risen by nine per cent. As of 2021, 7,263 people lived in the town, down from nearly 7,500 in 2001.
The decline of the steel works and subsequent loss of jobs for many in the area was repeatedly mentioned as a key reason for the town’s declining population. Janet Pillkington was born and bred in Stocksbridge. She has either lived or regularly visited the town all her life, and the 60-year-old said she misses the sound of a thriving steel works.
“You can sometimes hear the clink of metal,” she said. “It’s a lovely sound as I remember it from my childhood, but you don’t hear it very often anymore.”
However, many are surprised when they are told the population of the town is declining. “We like it here,” Eric, 82, and Jean Yeardley, 78, said.
Eric, right, and Jean Yeardley have lived in the Stocksbridge area for nearly 60 years(Image: Andrew Dowdeswell / YorkshireLive)
The couple, who have lived in the Stocksbridge region for most of their 61-year marriage, said they love the walking around the area. “There’s plenty of walks around here,” Eric said. “Bolsterstone and the moors. It’s lovely.”
Jean admitted the town has been overlooked in recent years, and feels it needs sprucing up. “It’s never had the investment,” she said. “There’s a lot of money that needs putting into it. It’s not been helped because it’s so old. They have not updated anything.”
Walking along the high street, there are closed shops, lots of takeaways, and some tired-looking signs. But there is also the Fox Valley Shopping Centre, a £50m development that opened in 2018 and is “always busy”, according to residents.
Pride of place is something another resident who wished remain anonymous feels has gone missing. “Everybody had pride outside their houses,” she said.
Fox Valley Shopping Centre opened in 2018(Image: Andrew Dowdeswell / YorkshireLive)
“People used to sweep and clean and be proud of it. But new people are coming in and they are turning it into an area that’s not well kept.
“They are throwing litter on the floor. They stand around shops, smoking. It used to be lovely here, but they do drag it down.”
The people who are moving to Stocksbridge also likely don’t work in the local area. Residents said many people travel away for work, and there are fewer people moving to Stocksbridge to work in the town itself.
Janet said: “My family came to work in the steel works. My friends dad came from Ireland to find work in the steel industry. He came to the area looking for Fox Valley Steelworks.
Janet Pilkington was born and bred in Stocksbridge(Image: Andrew Dowdeswell / YorkshireLive)
“People came to the area because they knew it was a place they could get work. I’m not sure that’s the case anymore.”
Stocksbridge has an index of multiple deprivation score of 18.03. This is significantly below the national average of 21.81 and Sheffield’s score of 27.57.
This score uses seven areas of deprivation, including income, health and other factors to generate an overall deprivation grade. It means the area is viewed as substantially more deprived than others in Sheffield or across the country.
Stocksbridge steelworks and town in Pennine Hills near Sheffield Yorkshire(Image: Geography Photos, Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Liberty Speciality Steel, which has sites in Stocksbridge, Rotherham and Wednesbury, was taken under government control earlier this year and has an uncertain future. The government is trying to find a buyer for the company, but a government-approved liquidator admitted if a buyer is not found, the sites will have to be closed. Chris McDonald MP, minister for industry, has said he is hopeful a deal can be completed.
The feeling of uncertainly, economic downturn and being left behind led to Stocksbridge and Don becoming the first Sheffield ward to elect a Reform councillor. John Booker won a by-election in June this year, edging out the Liberal Democrats. Labour, who had controlled the ward, fell to third.
Liberty Steel’s Stocksbridge steel plant(Image: PAUL ELLIS, AFP via Getty Images)
When elected, Booker said his party had “galvanised public opinion”. He said he “believes in common sense” and will provide an “alternative voice” in Sheffield City Council.
Given the feelings of many in Stocksbridge that they have been left behind, overlooked and have received a lack of investment, it is easy to see why they turned to Booker.