Park Hill Sheffield: Urban Splash offer 'compromise' to residents in green space car park row

The developers behind the Park Hill regeneration scheme have offered residents a "compromise" in an attempt to calm a growing row over car park plans for the area.

In an online meeting with residents yesterday evening, Urban Splash shared a new plan to build a car park on only one of the community green spaces in the area, rather than the original two.

Following the meeting, a spokesperson for Urban Splash said: "We have spent our time in recent weeks assessing the views of those living and working in the building as we strive to balance complex views and create designs that work for everybody."

They said recent feedback from questionnaires have showed "varying" results and opinions, including desires for green spaces, as well as, "a need for enough parking provision to accommodare future residents and businesses".

The amended plans have reduced the proposed parking spaces to 63 for 125 new homes - 0.5 per residence, which is "in line" with the current ratio across the wider Park Hill estate.

The Urban Splash spokesperson continued: "Following the resubmission of these plans to the city council, residents will again have the opportunity to have their say. This is an ongoing dialogue, and we thank the whole Park Hill community for continuing to share their views."

Despite Urban Splash's self-proclaimed "compromise", residents campaigning to save the green spaces, and those attending the online meeting, are said to still deem the proposals "unacceptable".

The chat from the Zoom call, which has been shared with The Star, showed the unhappiness of residents facing the new proposal.

"It doesn’t look significantly revised enough," one resident said, adding "disgraceful."

Another wrote: "There is no demand for parking from Phase 4 residents. There is no demand for green spaces from Phase 4 residents. The Phase 4 residents don't exist yet. They are hypothetical. If you market Phase 4 at people without cars, they won't have cars (and vice-versa!)."

One even said they could see children playing on the green space set to be paved over as the meeting was ongoing.

Save Our Spaces, the campaign group who wrote a damning open letter to Sheffield City Council leader, Tom Hunt, about the plans, told followers on X (previously Twitter) they were "considering their response".

The group did say that while the new proposals are still not what residents want, they do "welcome" Urban Splash's confirmation that parking provision in Phase 4 will be for residents and visitors only. The developer also confirmed there would be electric charging points, a car club and increased cycle storage.

One resident who spoke directly with The Star during the meeting said residents were "very, very angry". They said: "Everyone agrees it's better than it was before. But still overwhelming opposition to losing any of the green spaces."

The row over the green spaces started in early August, following the publication of Save Our Spaces open letter. It begin a flurry of political conversation, with Coun Tom Hunt responding: "I’m really pleased to see plans to redevelop Phase 4 at Park Hill moving forward.

"New people moving in at Park Hill will create some additional demand for parking but I understand the residents’ concerns about this and the importance of green spaces."

Green Party councillors from the neighbouring City ward also waded in, sending The Star a link to their previous letter objecting to the plans.