£5m superclub 'would put city regeneration scheme at risk'

Around 3,500 people have told Sheffield Council they would welcome the return of Gatecrasher to the city –while just 14 members of the public objected.

More than 11,000 people have joined a group on the Facebook Internet site supporting the application and approval has also come from DJs such as Radio One's Judge Jules, who described the original club as "an icon and institution".

However, prominent organisations such as the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), Sheffield Theatres Trust, city development agency CreativeSheffield, law firm DLA Piper and City Lofts – which is soon to open an iconic 32-storey flats block next door to the proposed site in Arundel Gate – have objected to the scheme.

The DCSF, which is soon to move to nearby St Paul's Place, says it does "not want to have to pay for extra security measures at the new offices" and the proposal "is not compatible with the very significant recent investment in this part of the city centre".

City Lofts, meanwhile, which still has to sell a third of its new apartments, says Gatecrasher could "crush further sales".

Agreeing with the objectors, planning officers have recommended the scheme should be refused by councillors when it is considered next Monday.

Although they admit there is "very strong support for the return of Gatecrasher to Sheffield", they say the proposed site, below the "cheese grater" car park in Charles Street, is not suitable as it could jeopardise the Heart of the City regeneration scheme.

In the report set to go before next week's planning meeting, the officers say: "This is a development that has taken many years and substantial investment of public and private money to deliver and make successful.

"Its public spaces are almost universally popular and require a high level of maintenance and supervision to keep them at their best.

"It has to be concluded that the proposed club represents a threat to this achievement."

The planners go on to say that, although the 2,000-capacity club would result in further investment and create 150 jobs, these benefits are outweighed by "profoundly negative effects".

In addition to the potential impact on regeneration, planners say the scheme is also unacceptable because of possible noise disturbance and the proposed smoking shelters, which they claim would be out of keeping with the cheese grater building.

However, officers say they have already offered to work with Gatecrasher to find another site and, at Monday's meeting, have advised councillors that they may "wish to confirm their support for the council helping to achieve the return of the club".

Individual supporters, meanwhile, say this is an "excellent location" for Gatecrasher, which has been "utterly missed since it burnt down."

One e-mail read: "Gatecrasher will enhance the city's nightlife and make Sheffield home to the best nightclub brand in the world again."

Gatecrasher boss Simon Raine said: "It is clear that our return to the city is welcomed and we just hope we get the planning permission we need to build the club."

Genting Casinos, which originally intended to open a casino on the site, says it has been marketing the building for some time and has been unable to complete a deal.

They want the Gatecrasher project to be approved.

A final decision will be made at Monday's planning meeting, which begins at 2pm at Sheffield Town Hall.