Site appraisals
Before you commit, we look at your site’s planning prospects and set out what stands in its way and what could support it.
Residential development · Sheffield
Residential development planning in Sheffield
Perhaps you own land in or around Sheffield, or you are weighing up a site for new homes. Either way, the first question is whether it has a realistic prospect of permission. That depends on where your site sits, what it has been used for and how it relates to the homes and streets around it.
We can often tell you at an early stage how your site’s prospects look. If there is a case to make, we will help you shape your scheme and present it well.
Key contact
Richard Pigott
Managing Director – Chartered Town Planner
How we can help
Bringing your land forward for homes
Whether you are at the first question or ready to apply, you can bring us in at the stage that suits you. These are the four parts of the work you are most likely to need.
Land promotion
If your land might suit housing in the longer term, we can help you put it forward to the Council and make the case for it over time.
Outline and full applications
When you are ready to apply, we prepare an application with the design and technical evidence it needs to stand up to scrutiny.
Masterplanning
On larger sites, we help you plan the layout and character of the whole place, so the homes, streets and open spaces work together rather than as separate plots.
Step by step
From your site to a decision
No two sites follow quite the same path, and you may not need every step. This is the shape most of our residential work takes, from a first look at your land to a decision on your application.
Step 1
Site appraisal
We review your site against the policies and constraints that apply, and give you a clear sense of its prospects.
Step 2
Strategy
We agree the route with you, whether that means promoting the land over the longer term or preparing an application, and explain what each would involve.
Step 3
Design and evidence
We shape the layout with you and bring together the technical reports your site needs, so the design and the evidence make one consistent case.
Step 4
Application
We prepare and submit the application, then work with the Council's officers and consultees on any questions they raise while it is being considered.
Step 5
Decision and beyond
We help you with conditions and any further approvals once permission is granted, and advise you on an appeal if a decision goes against you.
Local context
Planning in Sheffield
From a single plot to a larger site, the planning questions around new homes in Sheffield start with the land itself. A brownfield site within the city and an open field on its edge are very different propositions, and it helps you to know early which kind of conversation you are going into.
Our development work usually starts with a site appraisal, where we look at the policies, constraints and context that bear on your land. That gives you a clear picture of where the land stands before you commit money to design and technical reports.
Where the land is not yet supported for housing, the better route may be a longer one. That means putting your site forward when the Council considers where new homes should go, and making the case for it over time. Where an application is the right step, our planners and architects work on the layout and the planning argument together, so the scheme and its evidence make one clear case.
Throughout, you will know where your site stands and what the next step is, and the same team stays with you from the first appraisal through to the Council’s decision.
Green Belt and the National Park
Green Belt covers parts of the land around Sheffield, and the city's western fringe lies within the Peak District National Park. An edge-of-city site starts from a more restrictive position, and we will let you know at the outset whether your land has a realistic case and what it would rest on.
Brownfield land first
Previously developed land within the city is often the readier route to permission, although it can raise questions about ground conditions, neighbours and viability. We help you work through those early, so the scheme you take forward is one you can build.
Slopes and levels
Many Sheffield sites slope, and levels, access and drainage can shape a layout as much as policy does. We work these out with you before the number of homes is fixed, so the layout you apply for is one your site can take.
RIBA
RTPI
IHBC
ARB
Common questions
Questions landowners and developers ask us
How do I know whether my land has development potential?
It comes down to planning policy, the constraints on the site and its surroundings. A site appraisal brings those together and gives you a realistic view of the prospects, so you can decide whether to invest further before committing larger sums.
What does land promotion involve?
Land promotion means putting your site forward to the Council as a place for new homes and making the case for it, usually well ahead of any application. It suits land that planning policy does not yet support for housing, and it can take time. We can tell you whether it is the right route for your land.
Should I apply for outline or full planning permission?
Outline permission establishes the principle of development and leaves the details, known as ‘reserved matters’, to be approved later. That can suit you if you are testing a site or planning to sell. Full permission covers the whole scheme in one application. We will advise which suits your plans and your timetable.
Can you help a landowner as well as a developer?
We act for both, from a landowner with a single field to housebuilders bringing larger sites forward. The appraisal is the same careful piece of work either way, and it is written for you to act on.
Who will decide my planning application?
Sheffield City Council is the planning authority for most of the city. Land on the western fringe inside the Peak District National Park is the exception, as the Peak District National Park Authority decides applications there. Sites near the edge of the city can also fall to a neighbouring council, and we will check which authority yours falls to.
How long does a decision take?
The Council has thirteen weeks to decide a major application and eight weeks for smaller schemes, once it has accepted the application as valid. Larger schemes often take longer in practice, because of consultation and the legal agreements that can come with them. It is worth planning for that from the outset, and we will map out a realistic timetable with you when we first look at your site.
Find us
Our nearest office
Planning & Design Practice — Sheffield
The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX
Sheffield and South Yorkshire
Planning authorities
Development planning
Do you have a site in or around Sheffield?
Do you own land that might suit new homes, or have you seen a site you are thinking of buying? Share the location with us and we will come back to you with a first view of its prospects. We do not charge for that first look.