To say that the Covid pandemic caused uncertainty and unprecedented disruption is an understatement. However, the signs are good that 2021 will see ambitious projects come forward to transform the Sheffield skyline, which may see developers reusing and repurposing existing buildings as well as creating new landmarks for the city of Steel.
The planned extension of the Meadowhall shopping centre is set to continue, albeit in a revised form in response to the pandemic and the ever-increasing dominance of online retail. Part of a series of measures submitted by British Land to grow and reposition the centre, the amended proposal is smaller than the £300m extension approved in 2018 but will still see the creation of a £150m Leisure Hall on part of the red and yellow car parks, featuring new shops and a ’new, aspirational food and drink offer’ that has been estimated could support up to 1,560 jobs new jobs.
Sheffield City Council have approved plans to build a 39-storey skyscraper on High Street, in the Castlegate area. The former Primark store will be demolished to make way for the 206-apartment block named Kings Tower.
Builders have also broken ground on the £20million Vista project, near the bus station in the city centre. Vista will be a 16-storey building with 241 beds, which will expand the city’s existing student accommodation.
Speaking of students, construction of a £65m Sheffield University building which had to be torn down due to defective foundations is set to recommence. BAM said ‘deconstruction’ and re-piling of the social sciences building, were finished – subject to checks – and work would commence ‘shortly’.
Heart of the City II, Sheffield City Council’s flagship project to deliver a long-awaited commercial, leisure, retail and residential focal point to the city centre is also making progress. Construction continues on Block ‘B’ Burgess House and Athol House and Block ‘C’ Isaacs House on Pinstone Street.
Proposals to introduce upmarket hotelier Radisson Blu have also been approved by the Local Planning Authority, which is proposed to be located off Palatine Chambers on Pinstone Street.
A trio of social enterprises have submitted a £350,000 bid to revamp the historic Leah’s Yard, within the £480m Heart of the City II scheme. The council says it wants to maintain the site’s ‘unique Sheffield character’ and provide a new ‘maker’ space.
Elsewhere Sheffield University’s four-storey new home for its Faculty of Social Sciences is under construction on the edge of Broomhill, and the striking red frame of the former Embrace nightclub is set to be replaced by a ‘playful reinterpretation’ of its former incarnation, the Regent Theatre.
The new owner of Sheffield’s Old Town Hall, Developer Efe Omu has permission to convert the 212 year old listed building into apartments, a hotel and a market. Built in 1808, the landmark building has had five extensions and was also used as a court for many years, before closing in 1996.
The former HSBC site on Tenter Street, comprising five big buildings, are now collectively called Pennine Five. Acquired by RBH for £18m, they have announced £30m plans to turn it into a new ‘commercial campus’.
In the summer of 2020 Godwin Developments announced plans for a block of flats near Sheffield station – kickstarting the city’s biggest ever regeneration project. Intended as the first piece in a hugely ambitious £1.5bn project to redevelop the Sheaf Valley area and announced by Sheffield Council in March, it would see the closure of Park Square roundabout. Sheaf Street – the dual carriageway that runs in front of the station – would swap places with the tram route that runs behind. A new pedestrian bridge would link Park Hill with Howard Street and the multi-storey car park on Turner Street would be demolished and relocated. Up to 12 office blocks are planned, employing up to 3,000 people. In addition up to 1,000 flats and houses could also be built, with the area around Queens Road designated a new residential centre called ‘Sheaf Gardens’.
With an office at The Workstation we have a close connection with Sheffield with numerous clients and projects in the region. Please get in touch for advice on any planning issues or potential projects.
Main Image : Heart of the City II
