Outline planning consent has been granted for Sheffield’s £175m mixed-use West Bar Square development by developers Urbo Regeneration.
The 1.4 million sq ft scheme will comprise offices, high quality PRS apartment blocks, a four-star hotel, restaurants, and retail units plus associated landscaped public spaces.
Peter Swallow, Managing Director of Urbo Regeneration said: “The granting of outline planning consent represents another key milestone for the West Bar Square project and brings this ambitious scheme closer to delivery. Working in partnership with our delivery partner, Peveril Securities, I am confident we will be able to secure occupiers and investors and move forward with detailed planning applications for individual buildings in 2017.”
The granting of outline planning consent for West Bar Square presents another significant step forward for both the scheme and regeneration of Sheffield’s Riverside Business District.
Cllr Leigh Bramall, deputy leader of Sheffield City Council and cabinet member for business and economy, said: “This comprehensive proposed development continues the excellent regeneration in the Riverside area of the city. West Bar Square is a long-standing large office project, started by the Council, that will grow the economy of the city centre. New housing opportunities and a high-quality public realm will connect the core of the city centre to Kelham Island and complement the award-winning Grey to Green landscaping project.”
More than half the scheme will be office space, providing jobs for up to 5,000 workers and it is anticipated that West Bar Square will deliver large floorplate modern office space. The proposed office units will focus around the new West Bar Square, a major landscaped space comparable in scale to Millennium Square and St Paul’s Place in Sheffield, linking the Cathedral Quarter to the Riverside district.
Jon Suckley, Partner at HOW Planning, said: “Sheffield has been through a period of significant transformation over the past 10-15 years, something which has been shaped and encouraged by the city council. The West Bar Square site has been identified as an area for a comprehensive mixed use development within Sheffield’s Core Strategy and approval of these proposals will allow Urbo Regeneration to make further progress within the city.”
The site assembly and clearance process is already underway with a view to enabling the earliest possible start on site, subject to planning approval for individual building designs once investors are secured.
