Sheffield's Steel Heritage

The steel industry has been a huge part of Sheffield for hundreds of years.

Cutlery has been being produced in Sheffield since the 13th century. 

The steel industry lead to a tenfold increase in Sheffield's population during the industrial revolution and became known as the Steel City in the 19th century.

Much of Sheffield's infrastructure was built around the steel industry and the individuals involved. 

Gentleman's Row- housing for the executives of the Steel Industry

Steel manufacturing was a huge part of the lives of people in Sheffield, boys went on to become steel workers and girls went on to marry one. It was every child's aspiration to be involved with the thriving industry in some way or another.

It was an area of the economy that dominated the lives of so many, but times have changed.

Sheffield Steel Industry - FactFile

• In 2008, Sheffield was ranked in the top 10 UK cities as a business location

• The population of Sheffield increased from 70,000 in 1801 to almost 600,000 in 1951

• A major Sheffield steel invention was that of stainless steel by Harry Brearley in 1912

• The Sheffield Assay Office, which opened in 1773, stamps precious metals with the citys crown work 

• The company of Cutlers in Hallamshire was created in 1624 to promote the steel industry around the globe.

• By 1977 output had fallen to 20 million tonnes (3% of the world total)

• By 1979, British steel workers were third less productive than their French competitors and 40% less productive than West German Steel workers
• In the fiscal year 1978-1979 British Steel lost £309 million 

Changes in the Steel Industry Over Time

In 1967 Howard Wilson's Labour government brought in the Iron and Steel Act which renationalised industry and brought 14 big private companies together with a workforce of 250,000.

During the 1970s 50,000 jobs were shared across the industry

The global oil shock of 1974 and the increase in globalisation of trade and manufacturing dealt a major blow to British industry and Sheffield among the cities was the hardest hit.

1980 was a pivotal year for the steel industry as Margret Thatcher's Conservative government elected a 1979 set out to cut the steel industry's losses at a time of over capacity in the industry, rising energy prices and a deepening recession.

Many factory closures began in the late 1970s and accelerated through the 1980s. This led to the unemployment rate exceeding the national average for the first time in 1981 at 11.3%.

The 1980s also saw the first nation strike of steel workers in 50 years.

This highlights how influential the steel industry was on the lives of individuals in Sheffield.

The population of Sheffield declined by 5.1% between 1981 and 1991. However this rate slowed between 1991 and 2000.

"Despite continuing losses in the manufacturing sector, the overall number of jobs in the city, has been increasing since 1995 with the total rising from 213,000 to 254,000 in 2005" (NOMIS, 2007)

Sheffields image is being transformed by major investments in infrastructure particularly in the city centre combined with ongoing housing and neighbourhood renewal programmes.

Sheffield Steel Industries Timeline of Economic Events

1875

• Britain produced almost 40% if the worlds steel, which mainly came from Sheffield.

1952

• Steel industry privatised by conservatives.

1967

• Nationalised again by the Labour government.

1970's

• Steel production was at 29 million tonnes with employment at 325'000.
• Our steel industry was only 2nd to Germany.

1988

• Privatised again by Margaret Thatcher. Which did not go down well by many. 

2000's

• Production decreased to 12.5 million tonnes which meant we went down to producing only 0.7% of the worlds steel.
• Employment decreased to 30'00.
• Most of the steel production went overseas to China as manufacturing costs were cheaper and energy bills were cheaper. 

Some Solutions

City Strategy 2005-10

12 priorities:

• Strong economy 
• Vibrant city centre 
• Well connected 
• High employment and high skills in a learning city 
• An exceptional cultural and sporting city 
• Attractive, successful neighbourhoods 
• Great place to grow up 
• Good health and well being for all communities 
• Low crime 
• Environmental excellence
• An inclusive and cosmopolitan city 
• Well run and well regarded

City Centre Strategy:

Development of a project called ‘Heart of the City’ to remodel the city centre-

• building the centre’s economic role
• creating a centre recognised as a place for learning, culture, retail, leisure, and living; 
• making the centre more accessible
• bringing high quality public spaces to all parts of the centre.

Key projects were:

• the Heart of the City project; a group of public realm projects, including the Peace Gardens and the Millennium Galleries, designed to improve attractions in the centre
• the new Retail Quarter; revamping the retail environment in the city centre
• Sheffield Gateway Station; improving the look of and access to the main station
• City Hall and Barkers Pool, refurbishing the old City Hall to create a cultural and conference venue within a mixed-use area
• Castlegate, mixed-use developments in the city’s historic ‘gateway’
• creating user-friendly pubic and private transport networks in and around the centre
• a new e-campus for Sheffield Hallam University.

This plan was drawn up to provide a basis for public sector investment in infrastructure which, it was hoped, would increase the confidence of the private sector to commit their own investment

Sheffield cannot compete on the same footing with nearby regional capitals such as Leeds and Manchester, which have become the dominant marketplaces for professional firms. 

The main innovation in terms of Sheffield’s economic strategy has been to work more closely with the city’s two respected universities, the University of Sheffield, and Sheffield Hallam University. The current policy is therefore to develop the commercial potential of Sheffield.

Sheffield is still a manufacturing city, with over 12% of the working population employed in the manufacturing sector in 2005 (ONS).17 By cooperating with the local universities, the Regional Development Agency is attempting to address the economy’s over-reliance on vulnerable and slow-growth sectors through its focus on cluster and incubator concepts in high-growth sectors (Crouch and Hill, 2004).

Four new sectors continually emerge to become the focus of Sheffield’s economy:

• advanced manufacturing (linked to the city’s steelmaking expertise)
• biomedical and healthcare (with a specialisation in surgical blades linked to steelmaking and knife production)
• creative and digital industries (linked to the Cultural Industries Quarter in the city centre)
• sports science and technology (linked to the Lower Don Valley sports infrastructure)

• Promoted by the Regional Development Agency and the local authority, are a number of science and skill based initiatives
• Advanced Manufacturing Park - It is a key achievement in the economic recovery of the city, an example of how both industrial expertise and the local universities can generate economic activity for the city.
• Cultural Industries Quarter- now employs some 3,000 people and constitutes the central plank of the city’s creative industries activity.
• E-campus- a project to generate an e-business cluster in the city-centre.
• Science Park
• Inward investment initiatives - provided hundreds of low-skilled jobs for local residents, a necessary counterpart to the focus on high-skilled ‘knowledge’ jobs.
• Sheffield First for Investment- to promote the city and attract new businesses to locate there.

Signs of Recovery

• Modest population growth
• Rising property prices

City centre regeneration:

• with new public landmarks such as Peace Gardens and Winter Gardens;
• new bars and restaurants have opened in the city centre, and its population almost doubled to nearly 12,000 in the five years between 2000 and 2005;
• Lower Don Valley: redevelopment of the Lower Don Valley in the 1980s and 90s transformed the landscape of the city’s former industrial heartland from a factory-dominated derelict wasteland to mixed areas of new enterprises.

The Economy:

• Sheffield’s economy continues to shift from its manufacturing base towards a service base, with the proportion of all jobs in the service industry rising from 75.7% in 1995 to 82.8% in 2006. Manufacturing jobs fell from 19.8% of the workforce to 12% over the same period (NOMIS, 2007).
• Job Creation- overall number of jobs in the city has been increasing since 1995, with the total rising from 213,000 to 256,000 in 2005; • Inward Investment; • Skills; • Transport and Connectivity; • More Devolution • Developing the city-region agenda: multi-area agreements.