Builders set to redevelop former Sheffield petrol station site - decades after it was abandoned

The old filling station on the corner of Springvale Road, in Walkley, has been unused for around 20 years since the business closed.

But today, builders are finally on the site and have started work, after planning permission was granted for a flats project last year.

Our pictures show the site as it is today, with builders having already removed giant petrol storage tanks and started on what is thought to be an 18 month building project.

The scheme involves building 10 flats on the site with parking for 11 cars inside the four storey site.

Since the petrol station closed, the site has been unoccupied, and had become overgrown with vegetation.

In the intervening decades, plans had been put forward, both for housing projects, and for a Tesco express store.

The previous housing scheme had not progressed.

The supermarket proposal failed to receive planning permission after residents opposed the plans, which they feared would cause a road safety issue on what they saw as a very busy junction.

The developer appealed to the Planning Inspectorate after the scheme was rejected, but lost the appeal.

Residents today had mixed views on the scheme that is now underway.

Kaarian Hollo, who has lived in Walkley for 17 years, said her ideal would have been to have seen the site left vacant and turned into a pocket park for residents.

She said: “Tesco looked to develop the land twice, but I don’t think this scheme got as much opposition. Although I do think that four floors is a bit big.

"It would have been nice if they'd left it as open space, that would have been a real asset, but the flats are better than the Tesco would have been at such a bus junction. I never thought the site was derelict, it was never dangerous, and it had a lot of wild flowers growing over the years."

Shannon Dickinson, a Walkey resident of two years, added: “I don’t think it will fit in very well, the plans are quite modern. But I think it’s good that they’re making use of the space because it was a bit of an eyesore.”

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