This major development will be the replacement of the John Lewis store with one double in size, the closure of the Fire Station and its relocation, the closing of small businesses and the loss of part of Sheffield’s remaining building heritage. It will involve demolition and subsequent rebuilding of a huge area of buildings between the Devonshire Quarter and the Moor gateway. It will cover 20 acres.

Our Opposition is:

• We are not in agreement with the vision of the scheme.
• We do not support the need for increased retail space, especially with the growth of internet shopping.
• We do not support the displacement or destruction of small businesses.
• We do not support the destruction of the recently(1980s) built Central Fire Station.

Issues

The scheme replaces numerous existing businesses, including heritage sites and the newish Fire Station, with new stores and flats to go:

• Bethel Chapel Sunday School and the HSBC building on Charles Street.
• NRQ is a private development and the enclosed space will replace public spaces with a privately controlled development.
• The development assumes the need for increased retail space –despite the continued growth of internet shopping.
• It will displace or possibly destroy small businesses
• The development is not incremental and so may not have the flexibility to respond to changing needs.
• There is insufficient open space in the area of the project.
  

Our Initial views referring to outline planning permission

We objected to the proposals because we were not convinced of the underlying commercial reasons for the development. It is out of scale and in-appropriate over-development of the land. It is does comply with draft aims of Sheffield Development Framework in terms of sustainability:
Specifically:

• Over supply of car-parking spaces, buildings designs do not incorporate high energy efficiency, self sufficiency or energy creation.
• It pays insufficient regard for remaining buildings of our heritage (listed or not)
• Insufficient regard or no regard for promoting bio-diversity
• It reduces business diversity
• Detrimental to existing residents of the city centre
• It does not protect the needs of existing small businesses in the area