Just across from our Sheffield office at The Workstation, work is well underway on the demolition of the Science Park building and an associated surface car park as part of the Sheffield Hallam University’s Campus Masterplan.
The works are part of a planning application relating to Sheffield Hallam Science Park, part of the University’s City Campus. The site is located in a prominent City Centre location which has a high pedestrian footfall. Howard Street forms the north east boundary of the site, it is part of the City’s Gold Route and forms the key pedestrian link between the train station and the City Centre. The wide pedestrianised street is flanked by high quality hard and soft landscaping, large scale University buildings and some finer grain historic buildings including the Howard Public House which is grade II listed.
The demolition of the existing Science Park building, is required in order to make way for redevelopment as part of Sheffield Hallam University’s Campus Masterplan. The Masterplan is part of the University’s accommodation strategy which supports their vision to create a world leading applied University.
The current building does reflect the historic grid pattern of development to Howard Street and Paternoster Row, however the open car parking to the rear of the site and particularly fronting Arundel Street and Charles Street does little to reinforce the grid pattern. The scale of the existing building is reflective of the character of the area. However, it is considered that the building is of little architectural merit or significance and whilst not having a detrimental impact it does nothing to add to the diverse character of the conservation area. The loss of the building was therefore deemed not to have an impact on the special character of the conservation area.
We have a close connection with Sheffield with numerous clients and projects in the region, and we’ll be watching these developments with interest. Please get in touch for advice on any planning issues or potential projects.
