FAQs
- Hillsborough
- Middlewood
- Wadsley Bridge
- Oughtibridge
- Stocksbridge.
- Tuesday 6 October 2026, 2pm to 6pm at Christ Church Hall, Fox Hill Road, Wadsley Bridge, S6 1HB
- Saturday 10 October 2026, 11.30am to 3.30pm at The Studio, Courtside at Hillsborough, Penistone Road, S6 2DF
Where is the Upper Don Valley located?
The Upper Don Valley is the area running from the north-west of Sheffield city centre. It runs to places like:
Our plans are focused on areas including Hillsborough, Middlewood, Fox Hill and Southey.
Why are you planning changes to the area of Upper Don Valley?
The Upper Don Valley area includes key transport hubs, particularly Hillsborough and the surrounding areas. These areas used by lots of people each day to get to work, school, shops, appointments and leisure activities.
Sheffield’s hills mean that many transport routes meet in the Upper Don Valley. It has a large local residential population and major retail destinations. It hosts Sheffield Wednesday Football Club and the Tramlines music festival.
All of this means it can often be busy and congested with traffic.
The Upper Don Valley is well-served by public transport – both tram and bus services. But they often face delays caused by congestion that mean that people who rely on public transport are unable to get to work on time, get kids to school, or attend health appointments, in the way that many other people do.
Our plans will change this. By making some changes, we can ensure bus services turn up on time, by reducing delays and make journeys safer and more reliable, while maintaining access for private vehicles.
Why do you mean by bus priority?
Our plans include different ways to make bus journeys more reliable in the area, including bus priority signals, bus gates and bus lanes.
Bus priority signals are traffic lights that give buses a small advantage at junctions. They can keep a green light on for a little longer or change the lights slightly sooner for a bus. This helps buses stay on time and it does not stop all other traffic.
Bus gates and lanes are another way to help buses move more easily. A bus gate is a road where only certain vehicles can pass through, either all the time or at certain times of day. A bus lane is a lane that is mainly for buses. In Sheffield, taxis, people cycling, motorbikes and emergency vehicles can usually use bus lanes too when restrictions are in place.
How important are bus services in the area?
Public transport routes through the area connect communities in Middlewood, Southey Green, Fox Hill and beyond.
On a usual weekday, around 200 buses travel through the area. They operate along 29 bus service routes. This includes 10 specialist school and community bus services.
Approximately 40,000 people live in and nearby these neighbourhoods.
Around a third of households in Hillsborough and Middlewood, and almost half in Southey, do not have a car and rely on buses to get around.
Far more people travel to or through the area to get around the wider city.
This means that delays to bus services have an impact on bus users across the city, as well as on local people.
Making bus journeys more reliable will help people who already use buses. It will also make public transport a more attractive, practical choice for more people. By making these improvements, we can also reduce congestion in the area.
Will the changes improve my experience of using the bus and improve bus journey times in the area?
Reliable bus services are essential for many people who travel to the Upper Don Valley and through it.
By giving buses more priority and reducing delays where we know there is congestion, we can help services run more consistently and predictably.
This means there will be fewer delays and buses that turn up on time. The experience will be better overall for passengers.
I don’t use the bus, how will the changes benefit me?
Most of us know someone who depends on public transport, whether that's a child, family member, friend or colleague.
Many of us also use public transport ourselves from time to time. Young people and older people are especially likely to rely on it.
Our plans include improvements for drivers, such as upgrading key junctions and reducing traffic bottlenecks.
We also want to make it easier and safer for people to walk, wheel and cycle.
By improving public transport and encouraging more people to use it, we can reduce traffic congestion for those who need to drive. In the longer term, this can also help ease pressure on on-street parking.
How will the plans affect local businesses?
Vehicles will still be able to access all local businesses as part of the project. This includes people visiting, working in or making deliveries to the area.
We will make sure people can access all car parks in the area too.
Some road layouts, access arrangements and parking areas may change.
Access to the area by public transport will substantially improve. There will also be more opportunities to walk, wheel and cycle to and around the area.
Will deliveries and servicing still be available?
The nature of the plans affecting you will depend on your location. We will retain access for deliveries in all circumstances, but they may be restricted to specific hours.
If you think the plans could affect your business, please do get in touch by contacting us via our Freephone, email or Freepost address on the main page.
We are also holding a drop-in event for local businesses to learn more about the plans, share their feedback, and meet members of the project team. This event will be on Thursday 15 October 2026 between 8.30am and 10am at The Studio, Courtside at Hillsborough, Penistone Road, S6 2DF.
If you would like to attend, please RSVP by emailing us.
What are continuous footways?
Continuous footways give priority to people who are walking or wheeling.
They keep the pavement level across side roads, so you don’t have to step down into the road and back up again. Vehicles still have access in and out of the junction, but travel over the gently raised section instead. This reduces the speed of vehicles approaching and encourages drivers to stop for people crossing.
The design is widely used in UK towns and cities. It makes crossing easier and safer for everyone, especially people with pushchairs or people using wheelchairs and mobility aids.
How are you going to engage with local people?
We have worked hard to develop these plans with the community in mind.
We are engaging with the community and local stakeholders to ensure local people understand what we’re planning, and to explain the benefits we think these changes will bring.
From Wednesday 23 September to Wednesday 4 November 2026, we will be holding a public consultation. This will give local people the opportunity to meet with the project team, view the plans in more detail, ask questions and share their views through our feedback survey.
We will also host drop-in information events in the area. Come along to view the plans, share your feedback and meet the team:
We are also hosting a business drop-in event on Thursday 15 October from 8.30am to 10am at The Studio at Courtside at Hillsborough (see full address above). If you’d like to attend, please let us know by emailing us.
We will use your feedback to consider any possible design amends before presenting the final design for review and approval by Sheffield City Council. Upon being approved, we would then begin planning the construction timeline. We will share more details on the project website when we have them.