News that city centre shopping street The Moor will be in line for a radical refurbishment thanks to its new owners has been welcomed by traders.

Sheffield’s primary retail and leisure destination in the centre of the city, the Moor, was bought by NewRiver for £41m last week. It announced a series of redevelopment plans, including filling empty stores after lockdown and developing new residential areas in the next six years.

Guohua Liang, a 19-year-old student who is managing a Chinese food store in the Moor market for his parents in his spare time, said that the market’s footfall has been low since the lockdown. 

Mr Liang said: “Everything is hard during the pandemic. But hopefully, there will be more customers when lockdown ends. 

“The completion of the new residential area around the Moor could boost our business. But I am anxious that if new food stores open, it will put us under competitive pressure.”

The owner of Star Toys and Kitchen, 35-year-old Zerrin Yildiz, said that shops in the Moor Market sell things cheaper than most stores outside of the market.

She said: “If the company is adding new supermarkets, I believe the price range of their products needs to be lower than ours, or their business will be poor.”

Sheffield City Council’s £470m ‘Heart of the City II’ regeneration project, which aims to create 7,000 jobs in the city in 10 years, is also set to benefit the Moor. The project is building the area into a multi-functional district with close connection and vitality.

Access to The Light cinema could be improved, and the closed Debenhams department store could be flattened and redeveloped.