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Approval for upgrade of 'an eyesore'
CONTROVERSIAL plans for a £165 million refurbishment of Park Hill flats have been approved by Sheffield Council planners.
Proposals to convert the dilapidated 1950s complex into a modern, fashionable place to live with shops, restaurants and bars were approved at Sheffield Council's City Centre, South and East Planning and Highways Area Board yesterday.
But Liberal Democrats condemned Park Hill as "much-loathed" and "an eyesore" that should be torn down instead.
Under the plans, the existing 1,000 'homes in the sky' - a listed building protected by English Heritage - will be turned into 874 refurbished flats by trendy developers Urban Splash.
About two-thirds will be for sale on the open market and the rest managed as 'affordable housing' by Manchester Methodist Housing Association.
Modern buildings, including shops, offices, the community centre and Park Hill School, will be demolished, but the bulk of complex, which was completed in 1961, will be repaired and spruced up.
There will also be new community facilities and a multi-storey car park, a rooftop cafe and a glass art gallery.
Labour's Coun Mazher Iqbal said: "We all have to welcome this. We are not preserving this building simply because Labour want to, we are preserving it because the residents of Park Hill want us to. We have been waiting for this for a long time."
Coun Peter Price added: "The popularity of city centre living has exploded over the past few years. There are people living next to the Peace Gardens in flats that are worth 200,000 that are a lot smaller than the ones in Park Hill.
"I think it will be popular. Developers don't put money into these schemes unless they think there is going to be a return."
But Liberal Democrat Coun John Hesketh told the meeting: "Park Hill is not quality building, despite its listed status. No matter how good Urban Splash are they cannot airbrush that out. This is a golden opportunity that has been missed. Park Hill is an eyesore that long ago should have been torn down, not refurbished. This will freeze it in time."
Simon Gawthorpe, of Urban Splash, told the meeting that they hoped to put "a sense of pride back into Park Hill and make it a place where people will enjoy coming to live, work and play".
English Heritage had considered the plan to be of such importance that it sent its national committee northwards to visit the Grade II* listed complex before giving its own approval to the scheme.
Because of its listed status the demolition of Park Hill is prohibited by law, unless every viable alternative to rescue it has been exhausted.
Sheffield Conservatives leader Coun Anne Smith said: "I opposed the listing of Park Hill back in 1998, I thought it should never have happened. But it was and we are where we are.
The proposals were carried by five Labour votes to three Lib Dems against, with one Lib Dem abstention.
Coun Bob McCann, Lib Dem shadow cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said following the vote: "The vast majority of people in Sheffield will be disappointed with this news. It means that the prospect of the much-loathed Park Hill site hanging over Sheffield for another 30 to 40 years is one step closer.
"However this is not the final nail in the coffin and plans could still be reversed."
A detailed plan of exactly how the refurbished building will look will be submitted in several months time for approval.
What do you think? Should Park Hill be refurbished? click here Fears as remaining few 'not happy' with plans
AN EERIE quiet has replaced the once bustling community which made up Park Hill flats.
The shops at the hub of the high rise complex are closed while hundreds of the surrounding flats sit empty with their windows boarded up.
Today the only noise is from work men erecting a seven-foot metal fence around the buildings.
Two years after controversial refurbishment plans were announced, developers Urban Splash have finally got the go-ahead for a 165 million transformation of the flats.
The news was met with mixed emotions from the remaining residents on the site.
Natasha Howard, who has been living on Long Henry Row for nine years, told The Star she was "not happy" about the plans.
"It was such a nice estate to live on," said the single mother. "It had a nursery, a school, doctor's, dentist and was near to town. They say I will be able to get my flat back but there are going to be less properties."
The 30-year-old added: "We've been given just under 4,000 to move, it's not enough to get settled somewhere else.
"I don't want to move out of my flat but I hardly stay in it at the moment because it's flooded. I'm having to stay with a friend. People keep stealing the copper piping on the roofs. I have been offered a bedsit but that's not suitable because I have a one-year-old son. I'm waiting for something else."
Jackie Robbinson, a family support worker on the complex, has been helping tenants find alternative accommodation before the refurbishment commences.
"People started moving about two years ago. There is just one tenant left in the section I am working on. She keeps being offered 13th floor flats which are not practical as she has a five-year-old son.
"She's worried about what school he is going to attend because Park Hill has closed and she is feeling isolated because all the shops are closed and there is nobody around."
Jackie, who lives near the complex, added: "We had to have the anti-social team around to put extra locks on her doors as well as spy hole because there has been more trouble since the flats were emptied."
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: "I don't want to go. I've been here since 1961 when it was first done. I'm going to miss living here. It's convenient for everything. I'll believe the plans when I see them."
But Jean Jones, head teacher at the Grace Owen Nursery, said she was "excited" about the refurbishment plans.
"I've played an active role in the local community groups although I'm not a resident. Most people are keen it's going to be redeveloped. It's a fantastic place.
"People are unhappy they have to move as some tenants have been here for 40 years but they haven't been negative about the plans."
The nursery, which was rated 'outstanding' after a recent inspection, is set to remain.
Jean, who has worked there for 15 years, added: "Everybody's very keen to keep the nursery on the site. As far as we are aware the local authority has a commitment to keep the nursery open. We may have to move in the future but not for a couple of years."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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