Millions to Transform West Bar
| Published: 25th May 2007 15:22 |
25 May 2007
MILLIONS TO TRANSFORM WEST BAR
Sheffield City Council has announced another huge investment for the city. The Council and developers, Castlemore Securities, have just signed a development agreement that will see a massive £400m of private investment for the city.
The scheme, set to further extend the city centre, will transform a semi-vacant site, bordered by West Bar, Corporation Street and Bridge Street. The site wraps around the Crown and Family Courts, putting it at the centre of Sheffield's emerging new Legal Quarter.
A planning application for the entire project, which comprises of a hotel, offices, retail units, bars, and restaurants providing a complete new neighbourhood, is expected by the end of June. The Compulsory Purchase Order process, funded by the developer, will begin later in the year.
Councillor Tim Rippon, Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration, Culture and Planning at Sheffield City Council said: "This is an amazing investment for the city and one that will totally transform the site over the next ten years. The City Centre Master Plan contains a bold vision of extending the central area into Sheffield's historic Riverside. West Bar is a key project in this vision, and will form the bridge between the traditional Legal and Professional district of Cathedral Quarter and the new development around the Courts and Riverside.''
Plans will create a lively, stylish and sustainable new city centre quarter at West Bar comprising two million square feet of development. The scheme aims to combine a commercial development with the creation of an exciting mixed-used urban quarter, marked out by three landmark towers with a new public square provisionally called ‘The Citadel', providing an attractive destination and link to Kelham and the Riverside
Half of the development will be office space designed to fuel the economic development of the city centre and provide space for legal, professional and financial business. An additional 170,000 square feet of retail and leisure space including bars and restaurants, a hotel, a local supermarket, and all necessary amenities required by the fast-growing Riverside business and residential community. A possible unique feature is a proposed Centre for Architecture in conjunction with the University of Sheffield.
The residential content will be a balance comprising 700 apartments including a proportion designated for affordable housing. There will also be student accommodation.
Eric Hall, Planning and Development Director at Castlemore Securities commented: "Last spring a public consultation was held at a number of locations in the city inviting people to comment on proposals which we took into account for the next stage of design. The reaction from the public was extremely positive. We are confident that the resulting rich mix of activity and striking new architecture proposed will make Sheffield an even better place to live and work."
Simon Ogden, Head of City Development at Sheffield City Council commented: "The proposals for West Bar are incredibly exciting and help to further extend the city centre once the Inner Relief Road opens later this year. Castlemore have an excellent track record and commitment to architectural quality, these and their mixed use approach were all important factors in being selected to deliver such an important project."
Eric added: "Our own experience in regeneration which is unusually strong both in residential development, (through our SpringUR subsidiary), and in retail and commercial developments, means that we have been able to put forward balanced plans with plus points for all markets. "
Copyright © Sheffield City Council 1997 - 2007
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