New bid to redevelop old Sheffield care home and build houses on site

Developers want to convert Brincliffe Towers, close to Chelsea Park in Nether Edge, into a large, single property as well as building three new five-bedroom detached houses on the site, where a coach house would also be divided into three apartments.

In 2015 similar plans were refused by Sheffield Council after 35 objections were received. At the time, officers said a ‘more sympathetic form of development’ was needed. A year earlier plans that involved creating four detached homes in the grounds were withdrawn following pressure from a specially-formed action group.

Two residents have already objected to the new proposal, submitted by the site's owner, Ash House Yorkshire.

Brincliffe Towers, a Victorian mansion, dates from the 1850s, and Chelsea Park once formed part of its grounds before the land was handed over to the city in 1935. The main property, last used as a residential care home more than five years ago, is not listed but a statement prepared by the developer as part of the application said it would be 'sensitively refurbished'.

A 1950s extension to the old nursing home would be knocked down, while each of the detached houses would have two parking spaces and a garden.

"The site area is just under two acres which includes the two existing buildings - house and coach house - and the proposed three new houses," said the statement.

"It would normally be anticipated that this size of development area would normally attract a quantity of houses in the region of 17 to 20.

"We therefore believe that this proposal does not overly develop the area and is in fact a sensitive response to the site and the location within the conservation area."

The developer says Brincliffe Towers is in a state of disrepair, needing 'extensive conservation work', and that new houses are necessary to make the project financially viable.

However, one of the objectors, Andrew Wright, who lives on nearby Quarry Lane, said he was worried that only one access point for cars had been proposed, a single-track road off Brincliffe Edge Road.

"It is used by pedestrians to access Chelsea Park and is much used by adults with children and by unsupervised children," said Mr Wright. "There would be potential danger to all pedestrians by vehicles accessing the proposed development."

He speculated that the main building 'could later be divided into apartments' after being restored to a single house.

Planning officers will examine the proposals before any decision is reached.