Sheffield station: Future of DFS sofa store unclear after site snapped up by railway developer
The future of a large Sheffield furniture shop is unclear after it was bought as part of plans to create a new neighbourhood near the railway station.
London and Continental Railways acquired the £5.4m DFS retail warehouse site on St Mary’s Road because it is a five-minute walk from Sheffield Midland station.
LCR is a property developer owned by the Government for developing former railway land.
Sheffield City Council wants to turn the area into a ‘commercial, education and residential district’ with more than 2,500 flats in blocks up to 15 storeys.
A spokesperson for LCR said: “No decisions have been taken yet on the future of the site.”
DFS is still trading, they added.
Separately, proposals have been drawn up to create 413 apartments nearby at the former British Rail Sports Ground, on the corner of Farm Road and Queens Road, just south of the city centre. At 29-storeys it would be one of Sheffield’s tallest.
Announcing the DFS site acquisition in November last year, Karl Drabble, regional director at LCR, said: “This is good news for the North’s rail infrastructure and this acquisition is an early milestone for progress around Sheffield Midland station.
“Over time, regeneration around the gateway to Sheffield will enhance capacity for improved public transport, create space for new homes and jobs, and promote greener, more accessible walking routes into the city centre.”
The deal was part of LCR’s work with Sheffield City Council, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Homes England and Network Rail to deliver regeneration around Sheffield station, he added.
At the time, Sean McClean, director of regeneration and development at Sheffield City Council, said: “This is really welcome news, the area around Midland Station has masses of potential to be a new mixed-use neighbourhood filled with high quality homes and workplaces.
“It will become a major strategic regeneration focus over the coming years, so it’s very positive that our partners are willing to invest at this early stage.”
The city council wants to redevelop the huge empty plot immediately outside the station, build a major ‘cycle and footbridge’ over the tracks to Park Hill and ‘reconfigure’ the ‘under-utilised’ bus station for ‘high quality development’ and homes.
Part of the regeneration will include enhancing the sense of arrival into the city to give it ‘the wow factor’, documents show.