For decades, the conversation around Gleadless Valley has been dominated by “regeneration”—a word that, for many residents, has often meant blueprints for houses and top-down infrastructure. However, the release of the Council’s new Vision for Gleadless Valley (2025–2035) marks a significant shift in thinking.
At Regather, we’ve been working closely with Sheffield City Council and the local community to help shape this strategy. We believe this new “landscape-led” approach isn’t just a change in planning jargon; it’s a massive opportunity to build a more resilient, productive, and nature-rich future for the Valley.
Our aim throughout this process has been to check that the “economic” side of development doesn’t lose sight of the “community” in its broadest sense, including both the people, the plants and the wildlife that know this as home. Through workshops, “Design for Change” sessions, and local consultations, Regather has advocated for Community Economic Development.
We’ve worked towards a vision that isn’t just something that happens to Gleadless Valley, but something grown from Gleadless Valley. By feeding into the “Evolving” and “Thriving” themes of the strategy, we’ve worked to highlight how the Valley’s unique green assets can be used to create local jobs, improve food security, and foster a sense of collective ownership.
Our passion for this work is deeply personal and practical. Every week, our team travels from our Organic farm in the Moss Valley, right on the outskirts of Gleadless Valley, through the heart of the estate to reach our HQ in Sharrow.
Before it was a housing estate Gleadless Valley was a farmed landscape; today it is the physical bridge between where our food is grown and where it is eaten. We see the untapped potential of this landscape every single day. For us, regenerating this area isn’t just about urban planning; it’s about a mission to transform the local food system. By turning underused land into productive, nature-rich spaces, we can create a shorter, fairer, and more sustainable food chain that benefits the people living right here in Gleadless Valley.
The 2025 Vision acknowledges something we’ve long believed: Gleadless Valley’s greatest asset is its extraordinary landscape.
By prioritising the “Urban Productive Landscape” through projects like INNATURE, the strategy opens the door for:
We are thrilled to announce that Regather’s commitment to Gleadless is taking a major step forward through a new international collaboration. Over the next four years, Regather will be a key partner in INNATURE, a €5M EU-funded project led in the UK by the University of Sheffield.
This project aims to use Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) to enhance biodiversity and social inclusion. Gleadless Valley has been selected as one of only five “demonstration cases” across Europe (alongside sites in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Romania).
As part of the INNATURE consortium—working with Sheffield Hallam University, Gleadless Valley Wildlife Trust, and the City Council—Regather will help lead the development of:
A vision document is a vital first step, but the real work starts now. As we move from strategy to delivery, Regather is looking forward to seeing the “Team Around the Place” model empower residents to have a direct say in how the greenspace and woodlands surrounding where they live are managed and improved.
We want the “Big Projects” outlined in the plan to create pathways for local people to work in the emerging green economy. Gleadless Valley has always had a natural beauty; now, through the Council’s vision and the INNATURE project, it has an opportunity for that beauty to be an engine for its recovery and regeneration.
