Objections pour in over plans to bulldoze Sheffield community club for houses
One letter said the plans would “destroy the habitat and ruin the lives of residents”
Objections have poured in against a plan to demolish a historic Sheffield community club for housing.
Over 90 years of history came to an end in mid-2024 with the closure and sale of Highcliffe Club, in Highcliffe Drive, Greystones.
Anxious neighbours were initially relieved in January 2026 when the site reopened as ladies-only gym, dispelling fears it would be knocked down for properties.
However, their hopes were short lived.
Planning permission was submitted in March 2026 to bulldoze the club, clear a thicket of trees and build five three-storey houses with parking.
Now, objections from more than 30 neighbours as well as councillors and even Yorkshire Water have been lodged against the scheme.
“I believe that the proposal as it stands will have an awful and long term effect on the residents around it and will destroy an important natural habitat,” reads one letter on Sheffield City Council’s planning page.
“Better planning would be to not destroy the habitat and to not ruin the lives of the surrounding residents.”
More than half of the 37 total objections accuse the plan by land owner, Ruth Property Pension Fund, of “overdevelopment” by “shoving” five properties onto the site and subjecting the street to heavy, noisy traffic during construction.
Others say the new houses will stress existing troubles with water pressure on Highcliffe Drive, and complain the three-storey houses on an already steep incline will stand head-and-shoulders above surrounding homes.
“Just under two years ago I campaigned with others to try and save this club and to keep in the community domain,” writes one neighbour.
“I was relieved when it became a gym for the local women and relaxed believing it was going to stay in the community domain forever. Yet again, the community is having to make an objection again.
“This facility provides an important and inclusive space that supports health, wellbeing, and community engagement. The loss of this facility would represent a significant reduction in local community infrastructure and social value.”
A notable objection was from Yorkshire Water, but only to point out that a set of new trees developers intend to plant would get in the way of accessing sewage works, writing: “This could seriously jeopardise Yorkshire Water's ability to maintain the public sewerage network and is not acceptable.”
Several letters rail against plans to clearcut a thicket of trees and hedgerows.
One reads: “This area is home to a badger family, bats, foxes, hedgehogs, squirrels, frogs, newts, and multiple birds.
“The modest benefit of five additional dwellings is significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the permanent loss of protected woodland and environment, the risk to highway safety, and the harm to local amenity.
“This represents a clear case of over-development that fails to respect the constraints of the site and local residents.”
Highcliffe Club closed in 2024 despite an effort by some members to “save” the club.
However, a majority vote in March that year ultimately saw it shut, sold, and the proceeds split equally between everyone who had been a member for more than seven years.