Sheffield tower blocks: New plans for what would be one of city's tallest buildings, with 17 storeys

Developers have applied to Sheffield City Council for planning permission to build a tower block between seven and 17 storeys high in the city centre, on land between White Croft, Hollis Croft And Tenter Street. That is four storeys higher than previously approved plans for the Hollis Croft site, though the number of homes proposed is slightly lower, at 234 compared to 264 previously.

The largely residential block would consist of mostly one and two-bedroom flats, with 34 studio apartments, and there would be a co-working space on the ground floor. A communal lounge area, private dining rooms that can be booked to entertain guests, and a gym and cinema would als be provided for residents.

The planning application, submitted on behalf of Torsion (Hollis Croft) Limited, describes how there is already a 19-storey block of student apartments immediately south-west of the site, while a 27-storey tower to the south has been approved. But the 17-storey tower would still rank among the city’s tallest buildings if approved.

The proposed tower would be built in an area formerly known as the Crofts, which the application says was once the centre of the Sheffield steel, cutlery and file-making industries, with working class tenements and ‘back-to-back’ housing interspersed with iron and steel works and small workshops making cutlery and hand tools.

The planning application states: “The proposed development makes best use of this underutilised site demonstrating a carefully considered approach in order to achieve a scheme that is befitting of the area.”

Public consultation about the plans is scheduled to run until Tuesday, May 16, with a decision expected in mid-July.

Sheffield’s tallest building is St Paul’s Tower, which has 32 storeys and rises to 101 metres, but there are plans for a 40-storey building called Kings Tower which would almost certainly eclipse that if built.