New Designs For Sheffields Chesham House

The latest plans for the Chesham House Redevelopment in Sheffield, now worked on by John McAslan and Partners have been filed with the planning department of Sheffield City Council for RREEF (UK) Ltd.

The development consists roughly of 10,000 square metres of retail space, 5,000 sq m offices, 19,000 sq m of residential featuring 210 apartments and 16,000 sq m of parking translating into 475 spaces for cars but only 19 for cyclists.

Sitting on four levels of parking that occupy the basement levels, the project rises for 24 floors above it. The ground levels are retail areas taking advantage of the prime location of the site that will prove popular for shoppers in Sheffield, complete with 10 metre frontage intervals and floor to floor heights of 4.5m giving spacious units for leading outlets.

The 210 residential units occupying the levels above the retail and office space in three interlinked blocks that step down evenly from the 24 level, 70 metre height to 14 floors and then finally to 8.

There is also a lower-rise six floor block in the scheme that will have more residential in it, plus retail. Together they will have a new public space created in-between and all be topped by green roofs open to residents.

Materials used will be mainly baked terracotta, lightweight zinc, light render and glass that can be described as typically Sheffield as it is favoured in many developments throughout the city.

Construction schedule equates roughly to the site clearance starting in January 2007 and then the building of the car park first for June 2008, retail for November 2008, office for June 2009 and residential for September 2009 although this is partly dependent on the contractor and subject to change.

Building the scheme should be a welcome boost for the Moor where it is located. Currently a value retail area that relies on cheaper shops, it is physically rundown and a shadow of the prime location it was in the sixties.

A big part of the intention behind Sheffield City Council's desires for this new development is to breathe life into the area and make it an attractive destination again and acting as an anchor development for what could become the next major urban square in Sheffield.

The city has already successfully transformed the Peace Gardens into a pleasant place to be since the demolition of the "egg box" council buildings and if this development succeeds the Moor could finally become a modern and fashionable place to be again.