Riverside Exchange is one of Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

's 11 designated City Centre Quarters, situated by the River Don. Its borders are West Bar, Coulston Street, Bridge Street, Castlegate, Exchange Place and the Parkway

Sheffield Parkway

The Sheffield Parkway is a major dual carriageway which runs between the City of Sheffield and junction 33 of the M1 in South Yorkshire, England. The 5.5 mile road was opened in 1974, and runs to the east of the City, connecting Park Square in the City centre with the inner ring road, outer ring...

 to its south, the Wicker Viaduct

Wicker Arches

The Wicker Arches form a long railway viaduct across the Don Valley in the City of Sheffield, England. They take their name from the thoroughfare The Wicker, which passes through the main arch of the viaduct and was, until the completion of the Sheffield Parkway, the main route eastwards from the...

, Johnson Street, Spitalfields and Nursery Street to the North, and Corporation Street to the west. It is named after the Whitbread

Whitbread

Whitbread PLC is a global hotel, coffee shop and restaurant company headquartered in Dunstable, United Kingdom. Its largest division is Premier Inn, which is the largest hotel brand in the UK with around 580 hotels and over 40,000 rooms. Its Costa Coffee chain has around 1,600 stores across 25...

 Exchange Brewery, which was formerly located on the site of the current developments, and incorporates the Victoria Quays

Victoria Quays

Victoria Quays is a large canal basin in Sheffield, England. It was constructed 1816–1819 as the terminus of the Sheffield Canal and includes the former coal yards of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway...

.

History

In the 1760s, one of the earliest integrated steelworks in the world was set up on the site of what is now the Riverside Exchange. A brewery was founded in the area by Tennant Brothers in 1852, and by then there were already four different steelworks there. The brewery grew, however, and took up more and more of the area, and as Sheffield's steel industry plummeted in the mid-20th century and the steelworks were shut down, the brewery was free to expand and it soon took up most of the current area of the Riverside Exchange.

In 1962, the Exchange Brewery was taken over by Whitbread & Co Ltd. However, as the importance of the area decreased due to the closure of the Sheffield Wicker goods station

Sheffield Wicker Station

Wicker railway station was the first railway station to be built in Sheffield, England. It was to the north of the city centre, at the northern end of the Wicker, in the fork formed by Spital Hill and Savile Street...

 and the loss of tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 connections to the area, the brewery shut down in 1993.

Current developments

In the late 1990s, plans were made to redevelop the Exchange Brewery's area by Sheffield's city council. The area now has more than 300 new apartments, built between 2003 and 2005, and some large office blocks. The area has been made pedestrian-friendly by the construction of the Upper Don Walk, a walkway parallel to Bridge Street along the river Don, and a pedestrian bridge linking the new developments to Nursery Street on the other side of the river.

The development of the Riverside Exchange neighbourhood continues, with planned new developments such as more office space, shops and cafés. There are also schemes for Nursery Street to be pedestrianised. The final northern section of Sheffield's Inner Relief Road, finished in 2008, shifts traffic away from Bridge Street and further increases the neighbourhood's desirability.

Another development, the West Bar scheme

West Bar scheme

The West Bar scheme is a £400 million major scheme in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England on the edge of the City centre by the developer Castlemore Securities.The scheme will include:...

 is to be based in the quarter. This is planned to extend the city centre's retail offering, and will also contribute new apartments and office space, and is based around the Sheffield law courts