New plans revealed for homes on site of Baldwin's Omega banqueting venue in Sheffield

Owner David Baldwin at the restaurant which he has run with his wife for more than 30 years

Baldwins Omega in Brincliffe is set to close in July next year, when owners David and Pauline Baldwin retire.

Outline plans to demolish the restaurant and build homes on the land were approved in February last year.

The planning application does not appear to include any artists' impressions, but it does contain this image of an existing building to give an idea of the scale of the proposed blocks

But PTA Developments has now submitted a detailed planning application to create 52 apartments in six blocks up to four storeys high at the site on Brincliffe Hill.

The plans approved last year were for 38 new homes, consisting of a mixture of flats and houses.

Some neighbouring residents have voiced concerns about the extra homes now planned, which they fear will add to traffic on surrounding roads and would overlook surrounding properties

They have also complained about the consultation process, claiming many households never received a letter informing them of the application.

The restaurant is due to close in July 2018

Ruth Nelson, who lives in Chelsea Court, adjoining the site, said only two of the 14 households there had received a letter and claimed the council's distribution list was 'remarkably selective and patchy'.

"This is not the way to pursue such an application, nor to create the necessary consultation which it requires, and to which we, as residents, are entitled," she added.

"The process, at best, has been badly planned and organised, and at worst suggests a covert attempt to rush through this planning permission when few people are able to object."

One man who was notified argued he had been given insufficient time to respond, with the later dated December 8 not arriving until five days later and the deadline for comments falling on December 29. He also complained that important documents were not initially available online.

A planning statement accompanying the application says the development will help address the city's housing shortage.

It also claims the area is well served by public transport and says a transport assessment indicates the extra homes would have a 'negligible' impact on traffic.

This is not the first proposed development to spark a row over plans being submitted during the festive period, with opponents having branded the timing of an application to build 93 new homes in the Sheffield countryside near Stocksbridge 'cynical'.

The Star has contacted Sheffield Council and attempted to contact PTA Developments.