Kings Tower Sheffield: Developer gives update on Yorkshire's tallest tower block after plans approved
The developer behind a 40-storey tower block in Sheffield city centre, which it is believed will be the tallest in Yorkshire, has provided an update.
Plans for Kings Tower, on the corner of High Street and Angel Street, were approved by Sheffield Council in January.
But more than six months later, work has yet to begin on the skyscraper at the former Primark site, which will contain 428 co-living units.
A spokesperson for developer Oppidan Life, the trading name for CJS7, which submitted the successful plans alongside SFGE Properties, told The Star this week: “We are working through the planning consent conditions and negotiating a S106 Agreement under which we are contributing £75,000 to the Supertram.
“Work will start after that but (there is) no certain date yet.”
It is not known how long the project will take to complete once construction begins. The first step is to demolish the existing building, which has been vacant since Primark moved out in 2016. The adjoining building, which was also part of Primark, is now an easyHotel.
There will be a commercial unit on the ground floor of the new tower and residents will have access to workspaces, a gym and private meeting and dining rooms, among other facilities.
The £75,000 contribution was agreed to pay for new and improved facilities at the nearby Castle Square tram stop.
Yorkshire’s tallest tower block is currently understood to be Altus House in Leeds, which has 37 storeys and is around 114 metres tall.
The exact height of Kings Tower in Sheffield is not known, but it will have more storeys than any other Yorkshire tower block.
Sheffield’s current tallest building is the 32-storey, 101-metre high St Paul’s City Lofts Tower.
Plans for Kings Tower were approved despite a number of objections, with one opponent branding it a ‘disgusting carbuncle of a building’, and Green Party councillor Ruth Mersereau saying there was no need for another student block in the city centre.
The developer said it would enhance Sheffield’s skyline, cementing the area’s regeneration and creating a ‘new destination in the heart of the city’.
Plans for a 39-storey tower with 206 apartments at the old Primark site were previously approved in 2020.