Student accommodation planned for department store

A former Sheffield department store could be converted to create more than 300 student flats under newly-submitted plans.Tellon Capital, supported by Corstorphine + Wright, has submitted plans to Sheffield City Council to refurbish and extend 50 High Street in the city centre.The property was occupied by TJ Hughes until it relocated in 2013. The two lower levels were subsequently let to the British Heart Foundation, Poundland and Sports Direct. The four upper floors and a retail unit fronting Arundel Gate remain vacant.The application proposes that the upper levels are converted and extended for student accommodation. The existing retail units will be retained with their current occupiers.A total of 330 student bedrooms, in a mix of cluster flats and studios, would be developed on the five upper floors. Communal leisure and study space, an area of outdoor amenity space, and bicycle parking would also be created. Access would be from the vacant retail unit.A planning statement prepared as part of the application said the scheme would bring the vacant space back into use and increase footfall in this area of the city centre.Sheffield Hallam University’s Oneleven building and it’s city campus are located a five minute walk to the South, while the main University of Sheffield buildings and students’ union are a 20 minute walk to the West.