Councillors approve £150m first phase of major city regeneration

Full planning approval was granted today for delivery of the first significant phase of the new West Bar mixed use development, in Sheffield.It means construction can start within the next few months, on completion of ongoing demolition work.The reserved matters approval kickstarts regeneration of the seven-acre disused site to provide Grade A office accommodation – incorporating secondary retail/leisure uses – residential apartments, and public realm.Scheme developer, Urbo (West Bar) Ltd, a joint venture between Urbo Regeneration and Peveril Securities (the development arm of the Bowmer and Kirkland Group) has already secured £150m funding to deliver the first phase from Legal & General.It is the largest single private sector investment deal Sheffield has ever seen.Ultimately the partnership plans to deliver a £300m mixed use destination that is expected to create around 6,000 to 8,000 jobs as well as supporting Sheffield’s housing needs.Phase one includes the development of No 1 West Bar Square, a 100,000 sq ft office building with ground floor retail and leisure space.It will also deliver Soho Yard, comprising 368 Build to Rent residential apartments.On completion of the project as a whole, West Bar will provide about one acre of public realm and green space.Designed by architects 5plus with planning advice from Asteer Planning, No.1 West Bar Square aims to be sustainable gateway building to the wider West Bar regeneration project.Accessible from Corporation Street, it will be an eight-storey property with a curved exterior.There will be retail accommodation at ground floor, while the upper levels will provide floorplates up to 14,000 sq ft and a roof terrace offering views across the city.Urbo will also create West Bar Square, a landscaped focal point of the project, which will provide amenity space to the occupiers of West Bar and the adjacent Riverside Business Park.Soho Yard will offer 368 apartments within two buildings situated around a landscaped space and gardens.The properties will be delivered and operated by Legal & General as part of its ‘Build to Rent – Homes for Life’ portfolio.A separate planning application for a 450-space multi-storey car park which will also form part of Phase One and will be submitted shortly.Phase two plans for West Bar include a second Legal & General-funded, 100,000 sq ft office building, with further phases ultimately providing one million sq ft of mixed-use accommodation, of which over 500,000 sq ft will be Grade A office space offering the largest floor plates in Sheffield city centre.Urbo is advised by BNP Paribas Real Estate.