Decision on Sheffield city centre land deal and homes plan
Sheffield councillors are selling the freehold to a plot of land at the edge of the city centre to a developer.
Another parcel of land in Attercliffe is being disposed of to a housing association, which will build 59 affordable homes on it to rent out.
Sheffield City Council’s finance and performance policy committee will take the decisions next Monday (January 19).
The council holds a freehold interest in land at Blonk Street. The road runs from the Wicker to Furnival Road but an appendix to the report showing the exact plot is not available to the public.
A report to the committee says that the land is on 99-year lease and the leaseholder approached the council seeking to acquire its freehold interest in a property on the land. This accords with council strategy to dispose of unneeded assets such as buildings and land.
The report adds: “The leaseholder has expressed an intention to make substantial investment in the building situated on the land, which would improve the condition and long-term viability of the property and contribute positively to the wider regeneration of the surrounding area.
“The council’s sale of its freehold interest will simplify the ownership structure and facilitate private sector investment that supports the council’s growth and regeneration objectives.”
Scrapyard
A report to the committee says the Blonk Street proposal has to come before it because the council would be paid more than £300,000.
The price agreed would reflect market value advice, determined with assistance from a specialist, and be “subject to appropriate due diligence and legal documentation”.
The land in Ardmore Street, Attercliffe is a vacant site that was cleared during slum clearance and subsequently used as a scrapyard. The report says that “parcels of land were strategically acquired by the council over several years to assemble the site with the intention of bringing it forward for residential redevelopment”.
The site is already allocated for affordable housing. The housing association Places for People (PFP) came out top of an open tender offer among seven bidders.
The association already has “significant stockholdings” nearby the site, the committee report says. It manages more than 2,500 homes in the city.
Restrictions on the sale guarantee that 100% affordable housing must be built on the site. PFP will be offering 59 homes for social rent.