Plans for £175m mixed use development to move step closer

Developer Urbo submitted plans for a mixed-use regeneration scheme on West Bar in Sheffield, which will create 1.4 million sq ft of space fronting the city’s inner relief road, last year.

The outline planning application, which is recommended for approval, includes plans for apartment blocks, a four-star hotel, restaurants, retail units and landscaped public spaces. More than half the scheme, known as West Bar Square, will be offices, providing jobs for up to 5,000 workers.

It is a step forward in the regeneration of Sheffield’s Riverside Business District, already home to major employers such as the Home Office and lawyers, Irwin Mitchell.

The West Bar Square development will be centred around a new public square and will connect the Cathedral Quarter, Kelham Island and the Riverside areas of Sheffield city centre.

A report to councillors ahead of their meeting on January 10, said: “Accessibility and movement is critical to the successful development of the site.”

A public consultation on the scheme was held last year. “The majority of the people that left feedback strongly supported the creation of an office led mixed use scheme,” the report added.

Urbo now own or have control of approximately 70 per cent of the whole site and are in negotiations to acquire the remainder. The report said that a compulsory purchase order may be required to complete the site assembly and the council’s cabinet has previously given approval in principle to progress that if necessary.

The report said: “Overall, the socio-economic impacts of the proposed development are broadly considered to be beneficial, leading to increased job creation during both the construction and operational phases of the development.

“The environmental statement also concludes that there is existing spare capacity to accommodate increased demands for education and health care provision as a result of the development.

“Overall, the development represents a significant and welcomed regeneration project and secures substantial investment and employment opportunities for the Sheffield City Region.”

The scheme is the latest incarnation of plans for the area which go back more than a decade.

A “citadel” of towering apartment blocks, offices and retail space fell by the wayside when developers Castlemore Securities went into administration in March 2009.

It was picked up by Urbo in 2011, which has redesigned the original Castlemore scheme, removing three large tower blocks, increasing the office area and placing greater emphasis on public space.

Adam Murray, the vice-chairman of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce’s Property and Regeneration Committee, has said the new scheme shows further positivity in regeneration in the city, which has also seen the resurgence of plans for the development of its new Retail Quarter.

In addition, the Guodong group, which signed a 60-year partnership deal with Sheffield Council last year, is planning to invest £30m in a new private flats scheme in the West Bar area of the city.