Sheffield City Centre to benefit from £67m regeneration boost
Secretary of State for Levelling Up has announced a £67 million funding package to create two new residential neighbourhoods in Sheffield City Centre
Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency, has agreed a £67m funding package to support the creation of two new communities at Furnace Hill and Neepsend, as announced by Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, at the Convention of the North conference this morning (1 March).
The funding will support vital land assembly and enabling works across five hectares of brownfield and underutilised land, enabling new homes and commercial space to be built, as part of wider regeneration activity.
Peter Denton, Chief Executive of Homes England, said:
This funding will kickstart the transformation of Furnace Hill and Neepsend, paving the way for 1,300 new homes and 4,000 square metres of commercial space, and, ultimately, the creation of two new vibrant communities for the people of Sheffield to enjoy.
A core part of our remit is to utilise all the tools at our disposal to help places to achieve their vision for their area. Our work with Sheffield City Council over the last two years is a prime example of what this looks like in practice. We’ve worked in partnership with the council and other local stakeholders to create a viable action plan, and now we’re providing the funding to help make it happen.”
The proposals to transform Furnace Hill and Neepsend have been spearheaded by the Sheffield Together Housing Growth Board, which includes Sheffield City Council, Homes England, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, the Sheffield Property Association and the South Yorkshire Housing Partnership.
Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, said:
We have just signed a Strategic Place Partnership between Homes England and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. This very welcome government announcement of support in Sheffield will help us build early momentum with our business planning to support housing growth and regeneration across the wider South Yorkshire area.”
The vision of the Sheffield Together partnership is to transform Furnace Hill and Neepsend into two distinct and vibrant urban neighbourhoods, capitalising upon their historic and natural assets to create a varied townscape, with a network of new public spaces and streets to improve connections between the city centre and Kelham Island.
Partners have worked collaboratively on significant technical due diligence work, with acquisition negotiation and master planning all undertaken, to develop a robust strategy for the comprehensive redevelopment of the sites.
Cllr Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said:
This major investment will help to create two new city centre neighbourhoods on brownfield land. It will help to breathe new life into Furnace Hill and Neepsend and create great neighbourhoods with 1300 new homes.”
Furnace Hill will become a liveable neighbourhood with a focus on people and place. It will provide a broad residential offer alongside new local facilities, commercial and leisure space to support a diverse community. It will also celebrate its industrial heritage by creating a new public realm with the iconic Cementation Furnace at its core.
Neepsend will provide a sustainable neighbourhood, promoting the best of city life with all the benefits of outdoor and waterside living alongside the River Don. The unique historic fabric of Neepsend will be renewed as a lifetime neighbourhood, providing a range of housing, local amenities and green public spaces, with an emphasis on attracting families to the core of the city.
Cllr Hunt continued:
Importantly, we have also put down a marker for support from the next round of the Government’s Affordable Homes Programme, to ensure a minimum of 20% of these new homes is truly affordable accommodation which is within the reach of everyone.
Through our Sheffield Together partnership we are working hard to drive up housebuilding and regenerate parts of our city. This investment for Furnace Hill and Neepsend is an early outcome and we’re delighted to see our collaboration starting to come to life. Sheffield is a city on the up and we have big plans for further new neighbourhoods.