New council flats to be built in Crookes on site of empty Sheffield care home

Sheffield City Council’s planning committee agreed to replace the empty Bole Hill View care home in Eastfield Road, Crookes with 36 flats in two blocks of two and three storeys.Permission has already been given to start demolition of the care home, which has been empty since 2017, and the work is under way.

The development has been submitted by the council’s housing growth service as part of a project to increase the council’s stock of affordable homes by 3,100 over a 10-year period.

Lucy Bond of the council’s planning services department told the committee that councils are expected to have a five-year supply of housing land sites but in Sheffield this has fallen to 3.6 years, meaning there is a ’tilted balance’ towards approving housing schemes.

A report to the committee said that 14 people had made objections on issues such as the visual aspect, car park noise, overlooking and overshadowing of neighbours and the impact on local services.

‘Shortage of housing’

The report said that the distances between the blocks and neighbours was acceptable and some windows facing Moorsyde Crescent would be glazed to prevent overlooking. It said that bungalows on Moorsyde Crescent would lose some light to their gardens in the middle of the day but the levels of loss are within planning guidelines.

Coun Mike Chaplin said he was surprised there was not extra visitor parking to prevent overspill on to the road. Highways officer Mark Simons said it was felt one space per flat was sufficient for one-bedroomed flats. Many people live in that area because they don’t want to own a car, with high-frequency bus services and local facilities close by.

Coun Chaplin commented: “There is a big shortage of housing in this city and particularly housing for rent. There is also a shortage of that kind of housing for the Crookes area and the west of the city in general. A lot of work has gone on overall to make this scheme acceptable and desirable.”

Coun Roger Davison said: “It does tick a lot of boxes, this development. The planners have worked very well and all the problems that may have occurred have been negotiated.”

Coun Brian Holmshaw said he thought the buildings should be in stone, which he said was in keeping with the surrounding area. He voted against because “it looks very institutional. I think it’s very bleak and boring.

“We could make a lot more of this and it should be in stone.”

Affordable council homes

Sheffield Labour councillors have welcomed the scheme, which will be built to be extremely energy efficient.

Walkley ward councillor Coun Tom Hunt said: “The country’s housing crisis won’t be solved without new council housing and that’s why Labour is committed to increase the number of high-quality, affordable council homes in Sheffield.

“The new council homes will help to address the shortage of one-bed flats in Walkley and across the city. I look forward to welcoming new people to join our community.”

Council leader Coun Terry Fox said: “By insisting on the latest building techniques, we are delivering homes which are attractive, warmer and more sustainable into the future, protecting tenants from the worst impacts of high energy bills.”

Read this: Sports club licence reviewed after stabbing

Read this: Ice cream van wins right to stay outside park