Agreement proposed to drive forward Phase One
Agreement proposed to drive forward Phase One
07/02/2019
A new agreement has been proposed to bring forward the first phase of West Bar Square.
Urbo (West Bar) Ltd, a joint venture between Urbo Regeneration and Peveril Securities, the development arm of the Bowmer and Kirkland Group, is in discussions with Legal & General to bring forward the vision for the first phase of the development, as the company continues to support the development of UK cities.
The first phase of development will comprise 200,000 square feet of Grade A office space, 350 ‘Build To Rent’ homes, a multi-storey car park and high quality landscaped public spaces.
This is thought to be the largest ever private sector investment in a single phase of development in Sheffield City Centre.
Urbo has been working with Sheffield City Council for several years with a view to bringing forward the West Bar Square scheme which was granted outline planning consent in 2017. Detailed designs by leading architect 5plus will support the reserved matters planning applications for the first phases of development.
A report to the Council’s Cabinet in February also sets out a proposal for the Council to enter into an agreement to take a lease of one of the new office buildings.
The first phase will deliver large footprint, modern office space, which is currently lacking within Sheffield’s property market and when this element is complete, it is expected to accommodate up to 1,800 workers.
The creation of West Bar Square will complement the neighbouring Riverside Business District which already boasts key office occupiers including the Home Office, top 50 law firm Irwin Mitchell and the Crown and Family Courts.
Peter Swallow, Managing Director of Urbo Regeneration said: “This is a massively significant investment for Sheffield and is a vote of confidence in the future of the City as a whole. The partnership will deliver large scale regeneration in this important part of the City, linking the rapidly expanding Kelham Island district to the City Centre.”
Ralph Jones, Managing Director of Peveril Securities and main board director of Bowmer & Kirkland, said: “We are delighted to enter into this exciting partnership and are already working with Legal & General on a similar major Government Hub office scheme in the Midlands. We are looking forward to the possibility of working together again to deliver this market-leading development in Sheffield.”
Councillor Mazher Iqbal, Sheffield City Council Cabinet Member for Business and Investment, said: “This is fantastic news and yet another example of how we are attracting major new investment partners into the city. We are repeatedly being told that there is a shortage of new Grade A office space in the City Centre which could have a negative impact on the local economy in terms of options for new or existing businesses to move and expand.
“As a Council we are helping to address this through making sensible targeted interventions in the market with partners. This development will create jobs, living spaces and improved neighbourhoods right in the heart of Sheffield and provides better connectivity between the city centre and Kelham. It’s a huge project and Sheffield can’t wait for it to get started.”
