Developers urged to keep the cycle path in controversial Aldi plans opposite Sheffield Wednesday ground

In December last year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that Aldi was planning on opening a new supermarket on Penistone Road, right opposite the Hillsborough Stadium which is the home of the Championship-side Sheffield Wednesday.

Aldi also wanted outline permission for two drive-through restaurants, two trade/builders merchants units, a drive-through coffee shop, two other units and an electric vehicle charging hub.

The proposal would see the budget supermarket open with a sales area of 1,356 sq. m with 1,910 sq. m gross internal area (1,998 sq. m gross external area) – and the scheme would also provide a total of 155 customer and staff car parking spaces including six disabled, eight parent and child spaces, four electric vehicle charging spaces and nine cycle hoops.

Documents say the site has been designed to create an open site when viewed from Penistone Road North to allow ease of access and natural policing to the car park area. Along with a high-quality public realm and strong pedestrian links from Penistone Road North and Herries Road.

However, the application has met with strong opposition from neighbours, local groups, Sheffield City councillors and even South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) officers.

To date (March 12), there have been 119 comments submitted on the planning portal of which 119 objected to the plans.

In February, a group called CycleSheffield published an article on their website saying the application would significantly degrade the existing active travel provision on Penistone Road.

They added they objected “to the removal of the cycle path on Penistone Road and its replacement by a motor vehicle slip road”.

Ed Clancy, South Yorkshire’s active travel commissioner, told the LDRS that he was aware of the issues surrounding the proposal and his team “investigated the planning application” and discussed the plans with Sheffield City Council officers.

He added that SYMCA submitted an additional letter to Sheffield’s planning department “specifically regarding the active travel considerations of this application”.

In the letter, Ryan Shepherd, senior development manager at SYMCA, said they sought assurances that “the proposed development has taken the programme of active travel improvements into the design of the frontage and vehicular access(es) to/from Penistone Road (A61)”.

He wrote: “We ask that in the event of the grant of planning permission, the following points are conditioned: The provision of a 5.5m footway/cycle track including a two-way cycle track (3m) with a safety margin of 0.5m and a 2.0m wider footway on the far side from the kerb, as well as re-arrangement of street furniture as required.

“Provision of on-site facilities to facilitate and encourage cycling by customers and staff; The safeguarding of, and agreement to dedicate at no cost to SCC, the land for future cycling infrastructure improvements along the A61.”

He added that SYMCA urged the developers to work with the city council “to ensure there are clear and convenient links for pedestrians and cyclists into the site for example by the provision of upgraded crossing facilities on Penistone Road and Herries Road, and ensuring there is priority for walking, wheeling and cycling across the accesses to the site”.

Officers had originally until March 1 to come back with a verdict. That did not happen.