Sheffield property company Crossbow Ventures have submitted plans to Sheffield Council for their eighth development in the city. The new project of one, two and three-bedroom apartments and commercial units will be developed on the former Avis car rental site in Ebenezer Street at Kelham Island. The scheme has been designed by the team at Sheffield practice CODA Architects. “We are delighted to have seen this latest project go through to the planning stage,” said CODA Managing Director Matt Bowker. “The CODA team have a long standing track record of developing some of Kelham Island’s most important sites and following the success of the most recent – Cotton Mill Row – we feel this is a site that demands the highest level of development. “Throughout the design process we have worked closely with Sheffield Council planners to ensure a project that should meet all the specifications for the area.” Crossbow director David Cross said: “This will be Crossbow’s biggest project to date, a six-storey development, with four storeys to the rear of the site. “It is important to us as this project not only marks one of the final pieces in the Kelham Island redevelopment jigsaw and also brings our investment in Sheffield to well over £11 million.” The Ebenezer Street proposal comes directly after the completion of the nearby £6.5 million Birtin Works site at Shalesmoor. And it follows the success of the neighbouring Palatine Gardens project, Crossbow Ventures’ £10 million development of 101 studio apartments and duplex penthouse apartments on former commercial and light industrial land between Henry Street and Roscoe Road at Shalesmoor. “We have been major supporters of the rebirth of Kelham Island and Shalesmoor, recognising the importance of the regeneration of areas so close to the heart of the city,” said David. “The success of all our projects has justified our faith in this now hugely popular part of Sheffield. “We fully anticipate that as sites within this growth area become increasingly hard to find, we will be extending our search to neighbouring Neepsend, where we look forward to enjoy similarly successful growth.”

The next phase for Kirklees Dewsbury Riverside Development has been approved at Strategic Planning Committee. The site was marked for development as part of the Kirklees Local Plan in 2019. It will deliver up to 4,000 new homes over the next decade. As the aim is to create not just new homes but new communities, the project will also deliver infrastructure including schools, open spaces, and local facilities. Once started, these initial works should take around 20 weeks to complete. The full Dewsbury Riverside project will take shape alongside the Dewsbury Blueprint over the next ten years. Strategic Planning Committee granted planning permission based on full details of the first phase of access road into the site, and outline details for the provision of new community facilities and up to 350 new homes. The application also supports the delivery of high-quality pedestrian and cycle facilities connecting to the new signalised site access junction at the existing Forge Lane / Lees Hall Road junction, as well as the ability to connect to the new Ravensthorpe Railway Station which is part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade. The next steps include Kirklees Council working with local people to progress an Inclusive Communities Framework for the area which will feed the community’s future needs into the next stages of developing the site alongside external partners. Councillor Graham Turner, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “This is an exciting step towards the creation of a vibrant and welcoming new community which has been made possible by collaborative working with local people, the council, Homes England, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Network Rail. “We are committed to ensuring that the new Riverside development works for new and existing residents, many of whom have had their say about the proposals during the consultation phase, helping us better understand the aspirations and needs of the local community.” The first phase of construction has recently been completed by local company, The Casey Group Ltd with the creation of a new allotment site that will replace the original site of 25 plots with 43 plots. The transition of the existing allotment holders will start in the coming months.

Sheffield Hallam University has announced the names and purpose of each of the three new buildings that are at the heart of its emerging city campus development. Construction of the new buildings around a public green space got underway at the start of the year as part of plans to transform a key gateway to Sheffield City Centre. The development will deliver state-of-the-art facilities for students and staff, as well as  enhancing a major gateway to Sheffield City Centre and creating a vibrant site for the wider community to share. The buildings, which will sit on the site of the former Science Park on Howard Street, have been named Rivelin, Loxley and Porter, reflecting the importance of Sheffield rivers to the success of the city. The Rivelin Building will be a home for the College of Social Sciences and Arts, incorporating space for subject groups as diverse as architecture and psychology as well as providing a city-centre site for SHU Law – the University’s not for profit teaching law firm. Loxley will contain the Institute of Technology as well as being a food venue, including a café and fresh food market. There will also be a casual dining restaurant with teaching rooms on the ground floor. Porter will house the Sheffield Business School with a business lounge and state-of-the-art trading floor, providing students with practical experience of working on a real trading floor. It will also include a languages hub and be home to the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research. The buildings will sit around Hallam Green, a new green public space at the heart of the campus. This will provide more than 400 square meters of new greenery and spaces for up to 150 people to sit and relax. The University has invested significantly in biodiversity as part of the development with green roofs and roof terraces, and green corridors, an integral part of the plans. Designs include the latest technology and measures to make the new buildings zero carbon ready. They include the use of sustainable energy solutions such as heat pumps, maximising the use of photo voltaic panels and provisions to support and promote sustainable travel. Sheffield Hallam University deputy vice-chancellor Richard Calvert said: “Delivering this first phase of the campus plan represents a significant investment in our University and our city, and is one of the key commitments in Sheffield Hallam’s Civic University Agreement. We’re committed to delivering outstanding facilities for the university, modelling zero carbon ready construction, and to working with local partners and to ensure that we maximise the benefits for Sheffield and the wider region.” Campus plans are being developed by a number of key partners as part of collaborative ‘Hallam Alliance’. The first of its kind in the UK for a university building programme, the Alliance involves all design, construction and facilities management partners working collaboratively with the client through all stages of design, construction and operation. Members of the Alliance include Sheffield Hallam University, BDP ARUP (Design), BAM (Construction) and CBRE (Facilities Management). The first phase of the development is due to be completed in Spring 2024.

As Bradford prepares to welcome the world for a year as City of Culture, Kala Sangam has revealed plans for a major capital redevelopment of its building, which will see Kala Sangam become a bigger, more welcoming and accessible space. The plans will see the company take over the ground of its building, putting in a new 200 seat theatre, creating four new studio spaces, opening up a new prominent, easy to find front entrance and installing a new lift to give access to all floors. Work is hoped to begin in January 2024 and the reopen in 2025 as a major milestone in the City of Culture programme. £295,758 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been received to begin the development phase of this project. This funding will enable Kala Sangam to secure planning permission and support the creation of an archive celebrating its 30 year history. Funding will also support Kala Sangam to employ its new head of community engagement to work with communities in the city to explore their own heritage, and that of the building, and empower those communities to co-programme and shape Kala Sangam’s future delivery. Kala Sangam have also been successful in securing an increase in its regular funding from Arts Council England and will receive £362,000 a year for the next three years, starting in April 2023. One of the largest percentage increases in funding across over 900 organisations in the Portfolio, this additional funding will allow Kala Sangam to programme more dance, theatre, music and poetry and increase support for artists, focusing particularly on Bradford-based artists and those working in South Asian Artforms. Alex Croft, creative director of Kala Sangam, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have secured these two significant pieces of funding in recent weeks. Each of these awards will be transformational for this organisation, and is a result of 5 years of incredibly hard work by our brilliant staff team. “The increase in our regular funding from Arts Council England will enable us to support more artists in Bradford, have a greater role in developing South Asian Artforms locally and nationally, welcome larger audiences and play a bigger role in Bradford’s City of Culture celebrations. “It is also incredibly exciting to that we are able to begin making our capital redevelopment plans a reality thanks to support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. At a time when our audiences have been increasing each and every year we know that, for some, our building is just not accessible, particularly as our public lift is too small and very unreliable. This crucial funding is the first step on the road to us changing that, creating a bigger, more open and accessible space for all communities in Bradford to visit and enjoy.” Kala Sangam is working with Halliday Clark on the plans for the building redevelopment. Halliday Clark is a national architectural practice based in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. Richard Walsh, director at Halliday Clark, said: “Halliday Clark Architects are delighted to be contributing a modern chapter to the rich history of this building, creating healthy shared spaces and functions which speak for our time, and the people who will use them. “The redevelopment at Kala Sangam will enhance connections, both literal and symbolic strengthening links to the city and the Cathedral Conservation area as well as with the community, and our shared culture and heritage.”