Huge new tower planned for Sheffield city centre passes first hurdle

Kings Tower would be built on the site of the former Primark building at the corner of High Street and Castle Square.

Details of the proposals have so far been kept under wraps, but it is understood the building would have at least 22-storeys and potentially as many as 33.

That is more than Sheffield’s existing tallest building, St Paul’s Tower, overlooking Arundel Gate, which has 32 storeys and stands 331 feet tall.

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The developer has now been told by Sheffield Council that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will not be required as part of any planning application.

In a letter confirming the decision, the council states: “The site is considered appropriate for a tall building in principle at this main transport node and public space, with long views possible towards the site down High Street and Arundel Gate.

“It is therefore not considered that the proposed scale and massing of the development would have significant adverse impact on the townscape environment or any heritage assets (designated or non-designated) within the vicinity that would warrant an EIA.

“The site is previously developed with no natural resources present and the proposal would not have an impact on biodiversity.”

No details of the proposed development other than the location were published as part of a ‘screening request’, submitted by Crowley Associates on behalf of an unnamed applicant, to ask whether such an assessment was required.

But the council’s ruling states that it would include more than 150 homes and, based on the proposed footprint, would be a ‘relatively slender residential tower with a commercial use at ground floor’.

The eastern end of the old Primark building has already been converted into as easyHotel, which opened in October last year.

The proposed tower would stand opposite the listed Bankers Draft pub and the Castle House building, which was formerly a Co-op department store and now houses the National Videogame Museum.