CITY CENTRE LIVING

April 2004

Development, Environment and Leisure Development Services CITY CENTRE LIVING

‘Since the industrial revolution we have lost ownership of our towns and cities, allowing them to become spoilt by poor design, economic dispersal and social polarisation. The beginning of the 21st century is a moment of change. There are three main drivers:  the technological revolution - centred on information technology exchange  the ecological threat - based on a greater understanding of the implications of our rapid consumption of natural resources and the importance of sustainable development  the social transformation - flowing from increased life-expectancy and new lifestyle choices.’ Part of introduction to the Final Report of the Urban Taskforce, 1999, Lord Rogers of Riverside,

1. INTRODUCTION

One of the major objectives of successive City Centre Strategies since the late 80s has been to encourage the growth of the resident population of the central area.

The benefits of more housing include improved sustainability, vitality and attractiveness, a safer City Centre which continues to live in the evenings and at weekends and the generation of new uses for brownfield sites and vacant but sound buildings.

Although Sheffield is in many ways a more ‘liveable’ city centre than many, the housing market in the City Centre was slower to take off in the way it has in some other Northern cities.

In the late 1990’s however interest accelerated and is now manifesting in a number of quarters and sectors. Happily this coincides with the strongest encouragement from national Government for more City Centre, higher density housing as a key component of the ‘Urban Renaissance’ outlined in the Urban Task Force Report, national planning guidance on housing and other advice.

1.1 Supplementary Planning Guidance This Strategy will, following public consultation, become a document that will guide future housing development in the City Centre, and it will be approved by the Council as Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG).

SPG has a specific purpose and its status is set out in Government planning guidance (Planning Policy Guidance Notes 1 and 2). It does not carry the specific statutory status of the Unitary Development Plan (UDP), but:

2  it can provide helpful guidance to those preparing planning applications  it is taken into account as a material consideration when determining planning applications  the weight accorded to it will increase if it has been prepared in consultation with the public and has been the subject of a City Council resolution.

SPG should always be read alongside the UDP – it is not a free-standing document.

This document sets out a strategy to guide further development interest and public intervention. The aims include – promoting investment in the City Centre directing developers to appropriate sites and buildings ensuring the widest mix of housing establishing standards and quality establishing a reasonable balance between vitality and living conditions encouraging supporting infrastructure

Note: This Strategy does not deal with issues of design quality. This will be addressed via the Sheffield Urban Design Compendium, which has guidance for massing and architectural treatment for developments in each of the Quarters (see 3.7)

3 2. BACKGROUND

Up until the mid-C20th the historic centre of Sheffield was also the most densely populated area, but the growth of industry and pollution and the poor quality of much of the stock led to a slum clearance programme, which was largely completed by 1960. The better quality stock in the Cathedral Quarter and along the West St/Glossop Rd. Corridor was almost completely converted to offices during the same period,

Although some Council housing was constructed on slum clearance sites, notably at Townhead St., Edward St., at Parkhill and Broomhall Flats all eventually came to have at best a mixed reputation. No private or housing association development occurred until the 1980’s when the first blocks of housing association flats were built on Devonshire St.

A turning point was the demolition of the notorious Broomhall Flats in 1988 and the redevelopment of the 5 hectare site with 270 mixed tenure dwellings including 32 for sale, which were very popular and are still so.

This established that there was a market for housing for sale in the City Centre, as confirmed by the Council’s own market research in 1997 and the success of developments for sale at (1996) and Kelham (1999).

In the meantime, however, the City Centre has also seen a major growth in purpose built student housing, driven by the expansion of higher education and the need to discourage further growth of student accommodation in the western suburbs. This has mainly occurred in the where over 1500 new bed-spaces have been created. There has also been a significant growth in the Cultural Industries Quarter (CIQ) around Shoreham Street and Arundel Street (1200), in the Castlegate Quarter (60) and to a lesser extent at Moorhead.

These developments have had a major impact on the overall population of the City Centre and have encouraged the growth of other facilities such as convenience shopping, cafes, clubs and bars. This, in its turn, has led to two concerns, first, that student living accommodation does not come to dominate the City Centre to the exclusion of other types of housing for more permanent residents and second, that the residents should not be seriously affected by noise and disturbance from late night activities.

There is, therefore, a need to:  ensure that housing providers have regard to the wider market which is now opening up in the City Centre which could also include city centre workers, small families and retired people. (A shortage of accommodation for people with physical disabilities has also been identified.)

4  limit the potential conflict between residential and late night venues, such as nightclubs.

3. POLICY BACKGROUND

3.1 City Centre Strategy (1994) and City Centre Business Plan (1996 onward) The City Centre Strategy set out a vision for the City Centre and how this would be turned into reality. The vision was of a multi-functional centre to rival any major city but with an identity and emphasis that was uniquely Sheffield. It advocated that parts of the City Centre, notably Devonshire Quarter, should become the focus for a mix of residential development to complement the emerging student population. Its target was to increase the number of new residential units by 235 during the next five years. By the end of 1997 the annual review of this Strategy, the City Centre Business Plan, indicated that this target had already been exceeded with 318 units constructed since the beginning of 1995. This was the start of a significant expansion of residential development in the City Centre.

3.2 Unitary Development Plan (adopted March 1998) The UDP aims to ensure that there is enough good quality housing in the City for everyone, including those with special needs, and that housing areas are pleasant and convenient places to live in. It advocates that land will be provided in the City to allow for 10,700 dwellings to be completed before 2001, but this is being rolled forward as part of the City Plan document (part of the Sheffield Development Framework) which will eventually replace the UDP. The Regional Planning Guidance for Yorkshire and The Humber includes a requirement for an average of 770 dwellings per year (13,900 in total) to be built in Sheffield in the period 1998 to 2016. It also sets a target for 80% of these dwellings to be on previously developed land. Approximately 4600 dwellings were built up to 2002, leaving more than 9,300 still to be provided. The main locations for housing development are the City Centre, Inner Sheffield and Mosborough.

For UDP purposes, the City Centre is defined on UDP Map 10. Essentially, it is bounded by the Inner Ring Road to the west and south, and the rail lines to the east and north.

Housing Policy Areas already exist in the City Centre and Policy H10 sets out the types of development that would be allowed in these areas.

Policy H12 promotes the development of housing in the City Centre where it would: (a) help to strengthen existing communities in areas where housing is already established

5 (b) create new sustainable communities in areas which would not suffer from unacceptable living conditions, including air pollution, noise, other nuisance or risk to health or safety. In the City Centre Housing Priority Zone, housing will be expected to form a significant proportion of any new development.

Housing is the preferred use in the Central Shopping Area except for ground floor frontages in the Retail Core (see UDP Map10 for definition of these areas) – Policy S7

Government guidance highlights the need to satisfy the different demands for housing and Policy H4 promotes the provision of affordable housing in schemes over 1.5 ha or 40 dwellings whichever is the greater area.

Policy H7 indicates that, where practicable, mobility housing to meet local needs will be encouraged as a proportion of any new or refurbished housing scheme.

Policy H16 requires developers to ensure that there is sufficient open space to meet the local needs of people living in the new development.

Housing is also acceptable in areas other than Housing Areas but policies such as IB9b, CF8b, S10b and MU11b aim to protect the living conditions of residents or visitors in Business, Institution, Shopping or Mixed Use Areas. The policies do not allow residential uses where people would suffer from air pollution, noise, other nuisances or risks to health and safety.

A list of all the relevant UDP policies is given in Appendix 1

3.3 Urban Task Force – ‘Towards an Urban Renaissance’ The Urban Task Force Report for English cities, published in 1999, put forward a series of recommendations to answer the question set by the Government; “How can we improve the quality of both our towns and countryside, while at the same time providing homes for almost 4 million additional households in England over a 25 year period?” The report concluded that urban renaissance was not only about numbers and percentages. It was about creating the quality of life and vitality that makes urban living desirable. It recommended that a change in urban attitude was needed so that towns and cities became places where people of all ages and circumstances wanted to live, work and socialise. It also argued that an increase in investment was needed in our urban areas, using public finances and incentives to steer the market towards opportunities for lasting regeneration.

3.4 National Planning Guidance on Housing The revised PPG3, Housing, was issued in March 2000. It reflects the government’s determination to effect a radical shift in the way local authorities plan for housing development. Influenced by the findings of the Urban Task

6 Force (see 3.3 above), it introduces a new approach, which gives priority to the re-use of land and buildings before developing greenfield sites. It requires land to be used more efficiently and promotes higher quality development.

PPG3 states that local authorities should undertake urban housing capacity studies to assess how much additional housing can be accommodated in urban areas and, therefore, how much Greenfield land may be needed for development. The preliminary study for Sheffield estimates that the capacity of the City Centre could range between 4,000 and 6,000 units.

Virtually all land within the City Centre has been used before and the approach of this Housing Strategy, to bring land and buildings back to residential use, supports the aims of the PPG.

PPG3 states that development of less than 30 dwellings per hectare should be avoided and encourages housing developments that make a more efficient use of land (30 – 50 dwellings/hectare, dph). It seeks a greater intensity of development at paces with good public transport accessibility such as city centres. Encouraging higher density development in the City Centre will play an important part in ensuring that the average density of development in Sheffield meets the Governments targets. The average density of developments in Sheffield is currently 33 dph but the figure is much higher for the City Centre (averaging around 225 dph).

Sheffield is within the boundary of the South Yorkshire Low Demand Pathfinder area and the implementation of programmes of housing market renewal may have an impact on the demand in the City Centre and around its borders. The aim of the Pathfinder strategy is to achieve sustainable and attractive neighbourhoods and it is expected that this will complement the City Centre Living Strategy

The Draft Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) for Yorkshire and the Humber to 2016, sets a strategy that aims to minimise the amount of greenfield development and the need to travel. Policy H1 sets a target, for the region, for the provision on previously developed land and through the conversion of existing buildings. For Sheffield it is an annual average of 3,115 dwellings for the period 1998 to 2016, with 60% on previously developed land and conversions of existing buildings. This figure reflects environmental constraints to outward expansion whilst allowing for increases in the amount of City Centre and inner city living, as urban improvement schemes take place through the Objective 1, and other programmes, and as land values rise.

3.5 Action Plans A series of planning documents, called Action Plans, is being prepared which will be used to guide future development in various Quarters of the City Centre. They deal with all aspects of development including the opportunities for residential.

7 The following are relevant: The Cultural Industries Quarter Action Plan has been adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance. The Devonshire Quarter Action Plan has been adopted by the Council. The Castlegate Action Plan is at the final draft stage. The Cathedral Quarter Action Plan has been started.

3.6 New Strategy for the City Centre – ‘City Centre Masterplan’ The vision is for a prosperous and commercially successful City led by the regeneration of the City Centre. The Masterplan provides agencies such as Sheffield One with the means to use public and private investment to carry this out.

City Centre living is seen as an essential part of one of the City Centre Masterplan’s key priorities – Creating a Vibrant City. It also recognises the wider benefits that will accrue to the City and South Yorkshire from a successful City Centre. “…new mixed-use residential neighbourhoods will enliven the City Centre streets. A permanent City Centre population will provide better surveillance of the streets and fuel an expansion of local services, shops and restaurants.”

3.7 Sheffield Urban Design Compendium This is in its final draft stage and will become Supplementary Planning Guidance once approved. This document will provide a comprehensive overview of design and environmental issues with the aim of raising the overall design quality of the City Centre.

8 4. THE STRATEGY

Housing development is now very much a feature in the City Centre, largely as a result of private investment, but it is essential that this takes place in a sustainable way which builds stable, well-resourced communities which enjoy a high quality of life. This Strategy, which will become Supplementary Planning Guidance (see para 1.1), will give shape and direction to this movement and will ensure that it is co-ordinated with wider steps to regenerate the City Centre. It addresses the following issues: Location of new housing Mix of uses and tenures Affordable housing Densities and estimates of future population growth Living conditions for residents Open space Management, security and permeability Parking and car-use

4.1 LOCATION

Guideline 1 Housing will be generally encouraged on at least the upper floors of new or refurbished development in most areas of the City Centre, namely the Devonshire, Cultural Industries, Cathedral Quarters, Castlegate, St Georges, Kelham (adjacent to the River Don) and Heart of the City. It will be an acceptable use in The Moor (on upper floors only). Subject to the living conditions of residents being acceptable in all the above areas.

It will not normally be permitted in the General Industry Area in St Vincents – (Policy IB5), and will be discouraged in Hallam Central around Sheaf Street and in the industrial areas of Kelham Island away from the River Don Corridor.

Reason for the Guideline The different Quarters are seen as suited to a variety of different types of housing. Below is a general explanation of the locational issues.

Although broad UDP policies indicate that residential development is an acceptable use in significant parts of the City Centre, the living conditions that would be experienced by residents in some areas make such developments inappropriate.

9 The Devonshire Quarter This area is currently the most active and varied housing development area, with a healthy mix of housing for sale and social or private rent and student flats, catering for families and single people. The area west of Fitzwilliam Street is identified in the Quarter Action Plan as the best location for family housing within the City Centre owing to its proximity to open space (Devonshire Green) and to a primary school (Springfield). East of Fitzwilliam Street, potential sites are considered more appropriate to single people or childless couples in more dense development, mixed with retail, and the bars and restaurants of the night time economy. Residential proposals will be discouraged from areas east of Carver Street, and those south of Wellington Street will be treated on their merit and expected to incorporate high standards of noise attenuation, as these are locations for night-time entertainment venues and some manufacturing, so noise and disturbance could seriously affect residents – see Guideline 8.

The Heart of the City The Quarter comprises the civic and shopping core of the City but the upper floors of many commercial buildings on , , High Street etc. have been underused or vacant for many years as the demand for secondary office space has dwindled. The step change in quality of environment marked by schemes like the has re-awakened residential interest in these buildings. At the same time the revival of retail development at ground floor in many of these blocks has created the opportunity to remodel them to include separate access to the upper floors providing high standards of accommodation. Examples include the, now completed, 18-24 High Street, George Street, St. Pauls Chambers, and the development at Pinstone Street (currently under construction) and proposals for Leopold Street.

Whilst there is scope for a healthy mix of housing types as one would expect at the centre of a city, the opportunity to extend the range into new areas of the market should not be lost. For instance, the Heart of the City and the New Retail Quarter development should attract high quality apartments back to the City Centre, whilst the Leopold Street Education Offices should provide attractive specialist housing, perhaps more suitable for older people. Family housing is unlikely to be appropriate in this Quarter.

The Cultural Industries Quarter The Quarter, which includes part of Hallam University’s Central Campus, has seen substantial schemes for young people’s or student housing but there is scope for more live/work space and accommodation for childless workers in the City Centre, provided that this does not affect the requirement for business uses to remain dominant. Truro Works Phases1 and 2 are among the most successful student schemes in the City and further student accommodation (900bedspaces) has been provided at Exchange Works and the former Leadmill Bus Garage. Housing for sale or rent, with business space at ground floor, is planned for Sterling and Butcher Works, Mary Street, Leadmill Street/Matilda Lane. A new

10 development at Columbia Place provides 64 flats for rent at lower market rates to attract City Centre ‘key workers’ (those people who are in important service industries but are currently on lower wages and hence, unable to afford the full market rent). Without access to any significant public open space, however, the CIQ is not seen as suitable for family housing. Some parts of the Quarter have night-time activities that cause disturbance and Guideline 8 deals with this issue.

Castlegate This area is, as yet, fairly sparsely populated but a block of student flats in King Street, lofts for sale in the Canal Basin warehouses and the refurbished flats for general rent at Royal Exchange Buildings on Lady’s Bridge, are evidence of the potential identified in the Draft Action Plan. Other opportunities exist for both new flats as part of the redevelopment of the Castle Markets site (overlooking the River Don) and the riverside sites, (for example over 200 flats have been built in a new development fronting on to the River Don and Kelham Goit, at Riverside Exchange and more are planned) and for ‘living over the shop’ especially on Waingate, Haymarket, Dixon Lane and Castle Street. Again the absence of recreational open space would rule out family housing.

The Cathedral Quarter This was Sheffield’s original middle class suburb and retains many Georgian townhouses since converted to professional office use. As some of these, and later Victorian office buildings, become available for re-use as commercial space, due to changes in demand, an opportunity now presents itself to reverse the process and reintroduce high quality residential to the City Centre’s most attractive and distinctive quarter. However, this must be achieved without setting up conflicts with the very substantial remaining office employers. Large developments containing student accommodation could change the character of the area – the Council will encourage a more appropriate mix of tenures - although the Quarter already contains the long-established Townhead Street flats, which presently serve this market. The Croft Building provides housing for 42 student families arising from a successful partnership between the Council and the University of Sheffield.

Proposals for a new development at Vicar Lane/Campo Lane should provide in the region of 50 flats for sale.

Because many buildings began life as town houses, the possibility of re- conversion to family use should not be ruled out particularly if some garden space can be created.

With care and imagination the addition of a resident population in a variety of housing for sale, rent or shared ownership will encourage a richer mix of activity, including more ancillary retail, bars and restaurants which will actually make the Cathedral Quarter a more attractive location for business as well.

11 Kelham This area has recently seen the introduction of flats for sale and live/work space for sale in the converted Cornish Place and Brooklyn Works. Their success has indicated to developers that there is a market in the City Centre for this type of residential. A proposed new scheme a Neepsend Works will provide around 100 flats. The River gives an ideal setting for residential and there are numerous schemes being proposed for other sites in the locality. The ‘West Bar triangle’ area, between the river and the Cathedral Quarter has potential as a mixed office and residential area, perhaps extending the professional character of the Cathedral Quarter.

St Vincents Housing is, at present, not permitted in most of the northern part of the Quarter, but there is a sufficient element of social and student housing around the St Georges area. The area is currently the subject of a study to examine the future mix of uses in various parts, particularly for those adjoining the existing housing and changes to policy could mean an influx of single persons residential schemes.

The Moor There is presently very little residential in this quarter and the spaces above many of the retail units could provide opportunities to create new night-time venues without the constraints of being near to existing residents. On the other hand there is development pressure for new residential schemes in the area. Some residential developments may be appropriate in this area provided that suitable living conditions can be achieved and that measures to prevent disturbance from noise from part of any scheme (see Guidelines 8 and 9). Introducing housing could limit any re-use of upper floors for leisure and vice versa.

How the guideline will be put into practice Residential uses will be encouraged in the areas identified above. They will, however, be discouraged where living conditions would be unsatisfactory. A study has been commissioned to review the range of uses suitable within the General Industrial Area of Scotland Street (St Vincents). A further study is being undertaken to detail the future uses for The Moor. Potential residential development sites will be promoted.

4.2 MIX OF USES AND TENURES

Guideline 2 There will be a strong preference on many sites to set housing within a larger mixed-use building or development, provided that the living conditions of residents would be acceptable. In most streets in the Central Shopping Area

12 (see UDP Map 10), the ground floors at least, will normally be required to incorporate ‘active uses’ usually A1, A2 or A3 – (UDP Policy S3).

Guideline 3 In other parts of the Central Area, (within the Business Areas and the Fringe Industry and Business Areas), such as the Cultural Industries Quarter, workspace of the B1 Use Class (ie. environmentally compatible with residential neighbours) will normally be expected to form part of any development – (UDP Policy IB6)

Reasons for the Guidelines

This preference for mixed use is the result of the past forty-year’s experience of City Centre redevelopment in Sheffield as well as current national planning guidance. In many cases single use developments have resulted in unsafe, sterile, empty streets out of shopping hours and increasing travel times to work, study, shopping and entertainment, a major concern of the Rogers Report.

As the preceding section indicates there is considerable potential for a rich mix of housing types and tenures in the City Centre and this is something the City and its partners are keen to promote and support. Mixed tenure developments in which renters and owner-occupiers, social and private live side by side have a record of creating more robust, flexible and sustainable communities as the success of the Broomsprings development in the Devonshire Quarter or many of the City’s Victorian inner suburbs demonstrate.

Mixed-use development can make city centres more economically viable, attractive, safe and environmentally sustainable. Such developments do require new approaches to the funding and management of buildings, but these skills have long been practised in continental Europe and Scotland and are now being rediscovered in the local development industry.

There could be instances where certain types of uses within a development give rise to noise and disturbance, affecting residential amenity, and unless this can be resolved by design, technical means or separation, then this could lead to a refusal of planning permission.

Occasionally other more specialist mixes will bring benefits to the character of an area through ethnic, community, educational or religious influences.

How the guidelines will be put into practice

Deciding planning applications Providing appropriate advice to developers, which could include supplementary planning guidance and planning briefs.

13 Guideline 4 A mix of housing tenure will be encouraged in schemes involving residential development

Reason for the Guideline As section 4.1 indicates, there is considerable scope for a rich mix of housing types and tenures in the City Centre and this is something the City and its partners are keen to promote and support. Mixed tenure developments in which renters and owner-occupiers, social and private live side by side have a record of creating more robust, flexible and sustainable communities. The Broomsprings development in the Devonshire Quarter, or housing in many of the City’s Victorian inner suburbs, demonstrates the success of this approach. It is, however, recognised that the Council has limited powers through the planning system to actually prescribe the strategy of differing tenure and occupation in the various quarters. The Council and its partners, in this case the Universities, housing associations and regeneration bodies have already achieved a lot by advocacy and promotion, plus where appropriate the deployment of their land-holdings.

How the guideline will be put into practice Providing appropriate advice to developers, which could include supplementary planning guidance and planning briefs.

4.3 AFFORDABLE HOUSING

UDP Policy H4, promotes the provision of affordable housing for people on low incomes where there is an identified need. The current strength of the housing market in Sheffield, gives the opportunity to provide affordable housing without depending wholly on the Social Housing Grant from the Housing Corporation or the City Council. However, it is currently considered, that there is more than sufficient accommodation in close proximity to the City Centre to meet the needs for affordable housing.

Guideline 5 Because of the amount of available social housing stock in and around the City Centre, there will be no requirement for developers of new housing in the City Centre to include an affordable element within their schemes. This situation will be regularly reviewed by the Council. However, new schemes for social rent or key workers will be welcomed.

Reasons for the Guideline Until recently, the City Centre was almost exclusively characterised by social housing. Since the mid-90s, this has begun to change and now the majority of new housing in the pipeline is for private rent or for sale. The City Council is also

14 currently implementing an agreed stock reduction programme to ensure a sustainable balance and supply of social rented housing. This programme will be reviewed in 2005.

The City Centre, which is an ideal location for this form of housing provision, has, however, a significant amount of Council housing in and around its edges. For instance, the redevelopment of the Park Hill flats complex will aim to deal with the current problem of over supply and poor quality, to produce around 300 high quality affordable homes for rent on the edge of the City Centre

How the Guideline will be put into Practice This situation will be regularly monitored by the Council’s Neighbourhoods Directorate and it is anticipated that a housing needs survey will be carried out in 2004 which will examine, among other things, the need for affordable housing. If the survey deems necessary, the UDP Policy H4 will be implemented for schemes in the City Centre.

4.4 MOBILITY HOUSING

Guideline 6 All new or refurbished accommodation should comply with the UDP Policy H7 which seeks to provide accommodation that is capable of adaptation to meet the needs of disabled people. Full details of the policy and the required design standards are contained in ‘Mobility Housing Supplementary Planning Guidance’.

Reason for the Guideline

The aim is to provide general purpose housing, built to certain basic standards so that it can be easily adapted without major structural alterations to be lived in by people with disabilities.

A dwelling-unit designed in accordance with the principles of ‘Mobility Housing SPG’ would normally be entirely suitable for occupation by able-bodied people. It may be the case that mobility housing units will not be occupied, initially, by people with disabilities, (but many able-bodied people incur some disability in their lifetime through age or illness). The first aim of Policy H7 is to promote easily adaptable housing suitable for use by everyone. The second is to increase the total number of units in the housing stock suitable for conversion. Therefore initial occupation by a precise type of household is not an objective in itself.

How the Guideline will be put into Practice Deciding planning applications Providing appropriate advice to developers, which could include supplementary planning guidance and planning briefs.

15 4.5 DENSITIES AND ESTIMATED POPULATION GROWTH

National policy aims to achieve a significant number of new houses on land that has been developed before. This is particularly relevant to City Centre sites and higher densities will assist the whole of Sheffield in meeting these targets.

Guideline 7 Provided that the height, scale or architectural style of a development is appropriate to its location, general needs housing in the City Centre will be expected to achieve higher than 80 dph, rising to between 100 and 200 dph for student ‘cluster’ flats, young people’s accommodation and small apartments.

Reasons for the Guideline The Broomsprings development achieved a density of 48 dph as it provided family housing and flats for smaller households, but recent housing developments in Sheffield have easily exceeded this, partly because they are mainly made up of small flats and some have little or no car parking. Examples include:

Eldon Court- -180 (1 and 2 bed flats for rent) Flockton Court -200 (1 and 2 bed flats for rent) Victoria Hall -142 (student cluster flats) Campus 1 (Eldon St) -266 (student cluster flats) Glossop Rd Baths - 70 (luxury flats for sale) Exchange Riverside -281 (flats for sale) -348 (luxury flats for sale) St Pauls Chambers -400 (luxury flats for sale)

It is not considered appropriate to set rigid density levels across the whole City Centre since so much depends on the specific site, the type and size of the individual units and the level of parking, garden space etc.

The impact of requiring higher densities could, however, lead to large-scale developments that are not suited, in urban design terms, to their location.

A recent survey of available land and buildings, (the Sheffield Housing Capacity Study), suggests that a capacity of up to 6,000 dwellings exists in the City Centre. On an approximate calculation this suggests that the City Centre could reach a population of 17,000 by 2015 (in the1991 census the population was 2936, in December 2000 it was approximately 5716 and the 2001 census shows it at 6247).

How the Guideline will be put into Practice Deciding planning applications Providing appropriate advice to developers, which could include supplementary planning guidance and planning briefs.

16 Such denser developments will be required to contribute to the creation or improvement of recreational open space and/or play facilities in the vicinity where this is not provided within the site itself – see Guideline 12.

4.6 LIVING CONDITIONS FOR RESIDENTS

Poor environmental conditions were the main cause of the decline of City Centre living in industrial cities such as Sheffield and there is understandable caution about this issue even today. Industrial noise and pollution has given way to traffic noise and fumes (the majority of the City Centre is currently subject of an Air Quality Action Plan to reduce the effects of this), cooking smells from restaurants and take-aways, the sound of night-time revelling and amplified music as the chief sources of nuisance.

Coming relatively late to the city centre housing renaissance gives Sheffield an opportunity to learn from the experience of other cities such as Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool and Birmingham.

Guideline 8 A scheme of works to address the problems of noise will normally be expected to form part of planning submissions that involve residential or potential noisy uses, such as night-time leisure development. Planning consent will be refused for developments that are unable, through design, technical measures or separation, to prevent noise and disturbance from affecting residents.

Reason for the Guideline On the one hand it is accepted that residents of a major City Centre gain many advantages from central living in exchange for certain trade-offs, one of which is that suburban standards of quietness, especially at night, cannot be guaranteed. At the same time it is prudent, and possible, to build in the highest standards of sound insulation both between floors of a mixed use building and to street elevations of buildings in busy pedestrian or vehicle areas. Noise will invariably be an issue for consideration in relation to City Centre development.

For residential development the aim will be to provide a high standard of protection against noise for occupiers. For other uses, such as the entertainment venues, the aim will be to prevent excessive noise breakout and to locate areas such as bottle bins and taxi pick-ups so as to minimise disturbance.

Agreed technical measures should ensure that the appropriate level of noise insulation can be achieved in any new development, but if this cannot be achieved, then the amenity of residents should take priority and the development would be considered unacceptable.

17 How the Guideline will be put into Practice By requiring a full noise assessment as part of any planning submission. Deciding planning applications. Providing appropriate advice to developers, which could include supplementary planning guidance and planning briefs. The Council’s Planning, Building Control, Environmental Protection and Housing Officers will all work in close co-ordination to ensure that these high standards are both achieved and maintained, (documents outlining these standards can be obtained from the City Council).

Guideline 9 Noise insulation schemes for residential development will normally be expected to incorporate an acoustically treated means of ventilation (as an alternative to opening windows), allowing sound and fume insulation to work at maximum efficiency. Low energy ventilation systems will be encouraged.

Reason for the Guideline Noise insulation schemes will not achieve the required standards if an occupier has to rely on opening windows to provide ventilation. The energy efficiency of an agreed scheme is important and there are now appropriate passive systems that meet this aim.

How the Guideline will be put into practice Deciding planning applications. Providing appropriate advice to developers, which could include supplementary planning guidance and planning briefs. The Council’s Planning, Building Control, Environmental Protection and Housing Officers will all work in close co-ordination to ensure that these high standards are both achieved and maintained, (documents outlining these standards can be obtained from the City Council).

Guideline 10

In locations where the residential amenity of residents will not be seriously affected, the extension of A3 hours could be appropriate, provided that music is not the main attraction. In all cases, suitable sound attenuation measures will be required if music is provided (see Guideline 8).

In certain Quarters, the amenity of residents, during night-time hours, is considered to be important. For new developments involving pubs, bars and restaurants (presently all A3 in the Use Classes Order), it is appropriate to set their closing times to prevent undue disturbance.

18 The following opening hours will normally be permitted in those quarters specified below (see Plan 2 for boundary of each quarter):

Cathedral, Castlegate (around the castle and the riverside, Kelham (north of Green Lane/Dun Street), Western Bank (west of the Hallam Hospital) and St Vincents (south of Scotland Street) – pubs, bars up to 23.30, restaurants 01.00

CIQ (centred around the following streets – Arundel Street/Furnival Street/Sidney Street/Matilda Street and Mary Street/Shoreham Street/Leadmill Street) Devonshire, Heart of the City (north of Peace Gardens/City Hall precincts), St Georges and The Moor – pubs, bars up to 00.30, restaurants 01.00

Reason for Guideline

There is an increasing trend for pubs, bars and restaurants to want longer opening hours and requests have been made for up to 2am with amplified music. But current licensing laws tend to require a dance floor as a condition of late opening licenses and in planning terms this changes the use from a bar to a disco/nightclub. Locations and opening hours for nightclub uses are dealt with in Guideline 11.

The situation will change when the new liquor licensing legislation comes into effect (in 2004). Hopefully, this will lead to changing patterns of use, where ‘no closing time’ could become the norm for many licences, particularly in the City Centre. This should allow the evolution of a new type of late opening pubs/clubs, which are less dependent on heavily amplified dance music and therefore should attract a different type of customer. The amenity of residents is still very much a material consideration when considering planning applications and the opening hours stated here are still considered to be relevant.

At present, it is considered that there remains a real and useful distinction between the primarily food and drink activities (Use Class A3) and the primarily, dance/entertainment character of a night-club type use (usually D2). The Government is, however, currently considering changes to the Use Classes Order and this is likely to result in separate classes for pubs and food establishments.

How the guideline will be put into practice Deciding planning applications. Providing appropriate advice to developers, which could include supplementary planning guidance and planning briefs. The Council’s Planning, Building Control, Environmental Protection and Housing Officers will all work in close co-ordination to ensure that these high standards are both achieved and maintained, (documents outlining these standards can be obtained from the City Council).

19 Night-time Leisure It is appropriate, however, to identify areas where nightclubs or late-night pubs can continue to flourish, or for new ones to be built, and as there are parts of the City Centre where few people live at present, these can provide the opportunity for this to occur.

Guideline 11 Nightclub or late-night pub developments will normally be accepted in those parts of Heart of the City (around Barkers Pool and the New Retail Quarter), St Vincents (north of Scotland Street), Hallam Central, Castlegate (north of river and Wicker), The Moor and the CIQ (west of Leadmill Road/Paternoster Row), provided that they would have no serious effects on the amenity of existing residents (see Plan1for a guide to these areas)

Reason for the Guideline

The new licensing legislation could allow nightclubs to open throughout the night, but the Council will have to consider the affects on any residents when granting a license. This Strategy will enable the Council, through planning decisions to support that process when new pubs/clubs are proposed.

The night-club sector in the City Centre is a highly competitive one in which the trend is towards larger sound systems, opening hours extended to dawn and beyond and more intense use during the week as well as at weekends. These activities inevitably involve problems not only of noise levels generated within the premises, but also disturbance outside through large crowds, mobile hot food sales and arrivals and departures of cars and taxis. All these have a major impact particularly in the early hours of the morning.

The guideline identifies parts of the City Centre where it would be appropriate for late-opening nightclubs to locate in the future. But, because of this, residential schemes in these quarters could be affected by noise and disturbance. Accordingly, the nightclub will be expected to limit the disturbance it causes to nearby residents and guideline 8 will be applied for any of these proposals.

Equally, if residential schemes are proposed in these areas then measures will be required to limit the disturbance a resident would experience - guidelines 8 and 9 will apply in these cases. It should be recognised, though, that the environmental living conditions of residents may not be to the same standard as in other parts of the City Centre.

How the guideline will be put into practice Deciding planning applications. Providing appropriate advice to developers, which could include supplementary planning guidance and planning briefs.

20 The Council’s Planning, Building Control, Environmental Protection and Housing Officers will all work in close co-ordination to ensure that these high standards are both achieved and maintained, (documents outlining these standards can be obtained from the City Council).

21 1 Plan

22 4.7 OPEN SPACE

Sheffield’s City Centre, itself, has very limited areas of open space, green or otherwise, that can be enjoyed by both residents and workers. This situation is becoming more acute as the numbers of people living in the City Centre grows. The Government’s Planning Policy Guidance: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation (PPG17, 2003) indicates that developers may be required to enter into planning agreements to ensure provision of open space for the needs of residential development. Open space planning obligations are one of the planning obligations which may apply to city centre housing developments.” The following guideline outlines how new city centre developments will contribute either to the improvement of existing spaces or to the provision of more recreational open space in this location.

Guideline 12

New city centre housing developments for developments of five or more dwellings, or more than twenty five bedspaces of student accommodation will be expected to provide: a) courtyards, or green spaces or roof gardens, screened from street noise, where possible; and b) high quality multi-purpose open space which the residents and the public can use. In order to provide open space available to the public, developers will be expected to: i) make a financial contribution to the City Council towards provision or enhancement of open space in the city centre, prioritising open space in the same quarter as the development; or ii) provide appropriate publicly accessible open space as part of their development which would complement the city centre open space strategy as set out at Map 2.

The level of contributions towards open space provision from a developer will depend upon the number of bedrooms or student bedspaces within each dwelling, and will be calculated using the average number of residents expected in such developments.

Appendix 2 of the CCLS will be used to calculate the scale of any financial contribution in the City Centre. This appendix will be updated on an annual basis to take account of inflation.

Any financial contributions paid by a developer towards the provision or enhancement of open space will be the subject of a legal agreement specifying the amount of any contribution, when it should be paid and that it will be spent in accordance with the principles set out in the Council’s supplementary planning guidance “Open Space provision in new Housing Development”. This addendum

23 to the SPG requires that this contribution be spent to complement the City Centre open space strategy.

Policy Context

UDP Policy H15 deals with the design of new housing developments and requires developments to provide adequate private gardens or communal open space to ensure that basic standards of daylight, privacy, security and outlook are met for all residents.

UDP Policy H16 is concerned with providing the immediate recreational needs of residents. It requires developers to ensure that there would be sufficient open space to meet the local needs of people living in new housing developments throughout the City. Supplementary Planning Guidance – ‘Open Space Provision in New Housing Development’ (published May 1999) provides further explanation of Policy H16 and allows developers on small sites to contribute to nearby open space provision.

This guideline builds on guidelines G1, G8 and G9 of this Supplementary Planning Guidance and with Appendix 2 of the CCLS, will become an addendum for the SPG ‘Open Space Provision in New Housing Development’. Appendix 2 of the CCLS will be used for the City Centre instead of Appendix 4 of the SPG.

Reason for the Guideline

Residents need access to both private amenity space (which may need to be communal within flat developments) and open space which serves a variety of public recreational uses.

The City Centre is increasingly becoming a location for new housing development. However the City Centre currently has very little open space, particularly green open space, and what exists tends to be hard-surfaced.

New City Centre housing generally takes the form of new flats or flat conversions without any private amenity space, although a few have balconies or roof terraces. New build developments and most conversions will be expected to provide communal space, such as roof terraces, courtyards or green spaces, although this may be impossible for some small flat conversions.

Existing open spaces and the riverside have attracted residential development. High quality open spaces such as the Peace Gardens add to the value of nearby residential properties. They also provide facilities for many of the City Centre’s residents, as well as other City Centre users.

24 Open space in the city centre needs to provide for the needs of all users of the City Centre. This includes workers and visitors, as well as the residents of the City Centre, (which could include students, elderly people and children). The numerous shared housing schemes may in future be converted to self-contained flats for non-students. Therefore, active recreation and children’s play opportunities will be incorporated into City Centre open space.

A City Centre open space strategy (shown in Map 2) provides the framework for upgrading and creating new open spaces in quarters of the City Centre without sufficient high quality open spaces. Any new opportunities for creating or improving open spaces which arise and benefit local residents, will also be considered.

Such spaces will:  Be multi-functional, allowing for different uses at different times of the day and night. As well as passive recreation and children’s play, they might also be designed to allow entertainment, art or craft markets and space for street cafes.  Be urban in character, with both hard and soft landscaping and designed and maintained to the highest possible standards. High quality is import because of the city centre location and the higher level of usage. In many cases, the “public realm” will be created wholly or partly within pedestrianised streets or public squares. In other cases, such as near the rivers or existing green spaces it may be possible to create City Centre “greenways” or urban parks with a larger proportion of greenspace.  be designed so as to be accessible to all potential users, in particular, disabled people. Designs shall adopt a high standard of inclusive design, making use of the City Council’s Disability Design Standards.  Contribute to the cultural identity of the City through the use of high quality materials and the work of artists and craftworkers.

The level of contribution required from city centre housing development takes account of these factors.

As an indication of costs, an open space of the quality of the Peace Gardens costs about £700 per sq.m. This compares to a cost of £5 – 30 per sq m for informal open space in suburban locations. A riverside walkway in a City Centre location costs £700 per linear metre. For parts of the City Centre where no open space exists at present it may be necessary to acquire land at a very high cost. Because of these high costs, and because City Centre open spaces will be enjoyed by visitors and people from all over the City as well as residents, developers will be asked for a contribution towards part of the costs only. The cost of laying out or improving open space includes design costs, materials, and 5 year’s establishment maintenance

25 Given the approved strategy for open space provision in the city centre and the complicated nature of securing additional funding to provide open space in the City Centre, including the need to secure external funding, no time limit will be placed for expenditure.

How the Guideline will be put into practice

By:

Deciding Planning Applications

Site specific planning advice on incorporation of private amenity space into schemes.

Negotiating and entering into legal agreements with developers, which require financial contributions to be spent in the city centre and contain no time limit for expenditure.

Consolidating funding into Quarter Open Space Funds (providing for the City Centre Quarters identified on Plan 2). Any money held in Quarter Open Space Funds will be ring-fenced within the Development Services Capital Programme or appropriate revenue budget, both of which are administered by the Head of Service. This measure will ensure that the money is used for the purposes for which it was intended.

Identifying within Action Plans for the Quarters the locations for new open spaces or existing open space improvements

Carrying out an annual assessment of the scheme and amending costs of contributions accordingly

Model heads of terms for unilateral obligations

Unilateral obligations will include the following heads of terms relating to open space off-site financial contributions, where this is appropriate:

The Owners shall pay to the Council [on or before the commencement of any development within the meaning of Clause 2.2] the sum of £ to be used by the Council towards the provision of recreation space in the locality of the site. This shall be provided in accordance with the principles set out in the Council’s supplementary planning guidance “Open Space provision in new Housing Development”.

26 2 Plan

4.8 MANAGEMENT, SECURITY AND PERMEABILITY Another constraint on the growth of City Centre living has been the perception of the area as unsafe, subject to high levels of crime or dominated by crowds of rowdy youngsters.

As far as crime is concerned, the figures show otherwise, and compares very favourably both with other areas of the City and even more with other City Centres. Nevertheless there are too many parts where due to poor design, inadequate lighting or shear absence of passers by, one can easily feel in danger, however statistically unlikely.

Guideline 13 ‘Live frontages’, incorporating retail, service uses etc. and regular pedestrian entries on streets will be expected in new residential developments. Wherever possible courtyards should be permeable at least during the day. In addition, developers will be expected to contribute to measures such as the upgrading of street lighting and links with the existing CCTV coverage.

Reason for the guideline In part, the development of a residential city centre is its own remedy for this problem as the presence of ‘eyes on the street’, lighted windows at night and the additional footfall can do much to dissipate the fear of and opportunity for crime.

However, some trends in the design and management of modern city centre residential blocks can work against this natural surveillance effect. The use of single ‘swipe-card’ entrances leading to private courts can lead to few front doors on a street, destroying its vitality, while there is a tendency for larger complexes to be inward-looking and fortress-like. Whilst the formation of courtyards containing amenity space for residents will be encouraged in new developments, this will balanced by the need for active street frontages.

In some cases housing will be introduced into areas where residential has not existed for a long time, for instance those formerly associated more with industry (such as the ). Here, the amenity and safety of residents will be a major concern.

How the guideline will be put into practice Deciding planning applications. Providing appropriate advice to developers, which could include supplementary planning guidance and planning briefs. 4.9 PARKING AND CAR USE One of the benefits of more City Centre living is the chance to reduce the need to travel to work, study, shopping or entertainment. The Council has, therefore, accepted this approach but there are implications for this form of development and the following guidelines deal with these issues.

Guideline 14 Residential developments that do not have car parking facilities as part of the scheme will be acceptable in the City Centre. The development will, however, be expected to provide parking for disabled residents/visitors and cycle parking. Proposals for car pool arrangements will be supported although dedicated parking spaces for this may be required within the development.

Reason for the Guideline Allowing housing schemes to be built without parking provision recognises the access that residents in City Centres can achieve to major public transport facilities, entertainment and work opportunities. This approach has also had the useful effect of making some of the smaller City Centre sites viable for development and has been particularly successful for developments of student and young people’s housing, where car ownership is less important.

UDP Policy T21 requires the provision of parking to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Many are dependent on the private car and need to park as near as possible to their destination.

The UDP promotes cycling as an alternative to car travel and this is particularly relevant to those schemes that have no car facilities. To support this, Policy T10 expects cycle parking facilities to be provided in all new developments.

Because the City Centre lies within a controlled parking zone, it is subject to parking regulations that require on and off street spaces to be available to all users. It would restrict this provision if certain spaces were removed for residents only.

Several recent City Centre schemes have shown that car pool facilities are very useful for residential developments. It gives the residents access to cars when they need them without having to own one and as a result find parking spaces.

How the guideline will be put into practice Deciding Planning Applications Providing appropriate advice to developers, which could include supplementary planning guidance and planning briefs. Encouraging developers of car free developments to invest in car pool schemes.

30 However, it is recognised that it is unrealistic to expect all members of a genuinely mixed community to give up car use altogether. Therefore:

Guideline 15 If there is sufficient space within the development, off-street parking at a rate of up to one space per unit will be permitted in schemes where it is demonstrated that it is necessary for viability and it would not overload the highway network or add to congestion.

Reason for the Guideline Some developments within the City Centre are sufficiently large enough to accommodate private car parking and, to support marketability and viability, it is appropriate that this occurs. However, a too-generous provision of this form of parking would encourage commuting to work by car, which in turn, can add to peak hour congestion and reduce the quality of the City Centre environment. With this in mind, the guideline limits the number of spaces allowed in each new development.

How the guideline will be put into practice Deciding Planning Applications Providing appropriate advice to developers, which could include supplementary planning guidance and planning briefs.

31 Appendix 1

Unitary Development Plan Policies

The following are relevant policies:

Strategic Policies

SP3 A City Centre for People

Built Environment

BE1 Townscape Design BE3 Views and Vistas in the City Centre BE4 Environmental Improvements BE5 Building Design and Siting BE6 Landscape Design BE7 Design of Buildings used by the Public BE8 Access to Workplaces BE9 Design for Vehicles BE10 Design of Streets, Pedestrian Routes, Cycleways & Public Spaces BE 11 Public Spaces BE12 Public Art BE15 Areas and Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest BE16 Development in Conservation Areas BE17 Design and Materials in Areas of Special Architectural or Historic Interest BE 18 Development in Areas of Special Character BE19 Development Affecting Listed Buildings BE20 Other Historic Buildings BE22 Archaeological Sites and Monuments

Green Environment

GE10 Green Network GE22 Pollution GE23 Air Pollution GE24 Noise Pollution GE25 Contaminated Land GE27 Alternative Energy Sources GE29 Energy Conservation

Industry and Business

IB1 Employment and Economic Development IB5 Development in General Industry Areas IB6 Development in Fringe Industry and Business Areas IB7 Development in Business Areas IB8 Industrial and Business Sites

32 IB9 Conditions on Development in Industry and Business Areas IB10 Visitor Accommodation in Industry and Business Areas IB11 Housing and Residential Institutions in Industry and Business Areas IB12 Training Centres & Community Facilities in Industry & Business Areas IB13 Open Space and Leisure Uses in Industry and Business Areas

Housing

H1 Land Needed for New Housing H2 Locations for Housing Development H3 Land for Housing H4 Housing for People on Low Incomes H5 Flats, Bedsitters and Shared Housing H6 Short-term Accommodation for Homeless People H7 Mobility Housing H8 Housing for People in Need of Care H10 Development in Housing Areas H12 Housing Development in the City Centre H14 Conditions on Development in Housing Areas H15 Design of New Housing Development H16 Open Space in New Housing Development H17 Environmental Improvements in Housing Areas H18 Traffic in Housing Areas

Community Facilities and Institutions

CF1 Provision of Community Facilities CF2 Keeping Community Facilities CF3 Childcare Facilities in Buildings used by the Public CF4 Children’s Nurseries CF5 Community Benefits

Shopping

S1 The City Centre and the Location of Major Shop Developments S3 Development in the Central Shopping Area S5 Shop Development Outside the Central Shopping Area and District Centres S6 Conditions on Shop Developments S11 Design of Retail Development

Mixed Use Areas

MU1 Mixed Use Areas MU9 Kelham Mixed Use Area MU10 Victoria Quays Mixed Use Area MU11 Conditions on Development in Mixed Use Areas

33 Leisure and Recreation

LR1 Tourism LR2 New Leisure Uses and Facilities LR4 Open Space LR5 Development in Open Space Areas LR7 Development of Recreation Space for Non-recreation Uses LR10 Improving Open Spaces LR11 New Open Spaces

Minerals Waste and Reclamation

MW6 Recycling and Reclamation

Transport

T1 Promoting Public Transport T2 Promoting Bus Use T7 Promoting Walking and Cycling T8 Pedestrian Routes T9 High Amenity Zones T10 Cycle Routes T12 Traffic Calming T13 Area-wide Traffic Calming T14 Environmental Traffic Management T15 Strategic Road Network T16 Management of Traffic Demand T20 Car Travel to the City Centre T21 Car Parking T22 Private Car Parking in New Developments T23 Public Long-stay Car Parking T24 Public Short-stay Car Parking T25 Car Parking in Residential Areas

34 APPENDIX 2

FINANCIAL CALCULATIONS IN LIEU OF DIRECT OPEN SPACE PROVISION IN THE CITY CENTRE FROM HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.

DATE: 24 MARCH 2004 This Appendix will be updated on an annual basis in line with the Retail Price Index.

Within the City Centre (as defined on Map 2) a financial contribution will be sought in the case of all new housing of five or more dwellings, or more than twenty-five bedspaces of shared accommodation.

The total amount will be calculated as follows:-

Houses and Flats

One-bedroom dwellings £ 810 Two-bedroom dwellings £ 1080 Three-bedroom or more £ 1380 dwellings

Shared Housing

Per bedspace £ 575

This provides guidance for the calculation of commuted payments by developers for the provision or enhancement of open space. They provide a starting point for negotiations between the City Council and developers.

For general information about this addendum to the Supplementary Planning Guidance on “Open Space Provision in New Housing Developments” and the Open Land Database, contact: Sarah Smith, Forward and Area Planning Team Tel. 0114 2734882

For information on the City Centre Strategy for Future Open Space Provision, contact: Mick Empsall, City Development Unit Tel: 0114 2734187

Both can be contacted at: Development Services, Fax. 0114 2736204 Sheffield City Council, Howden House, 1,Union Street, Sheffield, S1 2SH

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