Outline planning consent granted for West Bar Square

14/02/2017

Outline planning consent has been granted for Sheffield’s £175 million mixed-use West Bar Square development – marking another milestone for the ambitious regeneration scheme which will create up to 5,000 jobs.

Permission has been granted by the city council for delivery of a flexible masterplan comprising up to 1.4m sq.ft. of prominent city centre space with frontage to Sheffield’s inner relief road.

Local developers, Urbo Regeneration, can now continue to progress negotiations with potential occupiers and investors for the proposed offices, high quality PRS apartment blocks, a four-star hotel, restaurants, and retail units to be constructed on the site. Consent has also been granted for associated landscaped public spaces within the development.

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. The area is already home to some 3500 jobs with employers such as the Home Office, Courts, Irwin Mitchell and other large occupiers.

Late last year it was announced that Peveril Securities, the development arm of Bowmer & Kirkland Group, had been secured as the delivery partner for West Bar Square. The joint venture saw the creation of the new company, Urbo (West Bar) Ltd, formalising the partnership to deliver the project as a whole.

More than half the scheme will be office space, providing jobs for up to 5,000 workers. It is anticipated that West Bar Square will deliver large floorplate modern office space, currently lacking within the Sheffield property market, with the aim of attracting further major private and public sector employers to Sheffield City Centre.

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.

The West Bar Square scheme has been designed by 5plus architects and master planners Urbed, and was developed working in conjunction with officers at Sheffield City Council to ensure the completed scheme will form a distinctive new extension of Sheffield City Centre. How Planning Consultants advised upon and co-ordinated the planning application process.

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.”

Ralph Jones, Managing Director of Peveril Securities Limited and Main Board Director of Bowmer & Kirkland added: “The receipt of planning consent is excellent news, and now allows us to progress through the development process and continue our Group’s involvement with Sheffield on this exciting scheme.”

Councillor 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.”

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.

BNP Paribas and Knight Frank have been appointed as joint agents for West Bar Square. Their details, together with information about the development, can be found at www.westbarsquare.com.