Overview
- Liberty Speciality Steel, which runs the Stocksbridge mill, was taken under government control earlier this year as officials seek a buyer, with a government‑approved liquidator warning the sites could close if none is found.
- Industry minister Chris McDonald has said he is hopeful a sale can be agreed, though no deal has been announced.
- The town’s population fell 3.8% over two decades to 7,263 in 2021, bucking regional growth reported across South Yorkshire.
- Stocksbridge records an Index of Multiple Deprivation score of 18.03 versus 21.81 nationally and 27.57 for Sheffield, a picture local reporting describes as comparatively more deprived.
- Residents report a high street marked by closures and takeaways while the £50m Fox Valley Shopping Centre, opened in 2018, stays busy, and political discontent surfaced with Reform UK winning a June by‑election in Stocksbridge and Don.