According to local reports the Council said it would use £45 million of public money to kick-start the project. The funding would be provided through a TIF scheme.TIF allows public authorities to generate funding for infrastructure developments by borrowing against predicted increases in business rates.
The Government granted Sheffield the power to use TIF earlier this year under its 'City Deals' scheme. Under the scheme, a number of cities were allowed to establish self-sustaining investment funds to spend on local priority projects, reducing their dependence on central Government grants.
The plans for the £600m Sevenstone scheme, which would be located in Sheffield's city centre, include space for up to 100 shops. The project has been on hold since 2008 due to the economic climate.
"What we've got now is a classic chicken and egg situation," said the Council's chief executive John Mothersole according to reports. "Until Sevenstone is built the business rates aren't paid because the shops don't exist, but unless we can deal with the financial challenges that Sevenstone is facing because of the economic downturn, it will never be built, so we're trying to break this circle with this very innovative proposal."
The Council said it hoped that spending up to £45m on preparatory work would encourage more retailers to make a "firm commitment" to the scheme. It said it hoped work would start on the scheme by 2014.
