Sustainable developer Citu has secured planning permission for Phase One of the landmark Attercliffe Waterside urban regeneration scheme in Sheffield.
The 23-acre brownfield site is owned by Sheffield City Council and straddles either side of Sheffield and Tinsley Canal, once a vital waterway in powering the city’s Industrial Revolution. The transformational scheme will celebrate the rich heritage of the site which has laid derelict for years and is now destined to become one of the largest low carbon communities in the UK.
Around 1,000 homes will be delivered in three phases across the scheme, complemented by community focussed leisure opportunities and creative workspaces. Phase One – which includes 362 homes, new public realm, a new pedestrian bridge across the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal, and the repurposing of existing buildings – was approved by Sheffield City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee yesterday (Tuesday 9 July).
The first phase on the north side of the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal will form the heart of the new district, with work expected to begin this autumn on the leisure and commercial elements, ahead of construction of the first homes on site.
Six existing historic buildings will be reimagined at the centre of the new neighbourhood that will include a café, bar, bakery, restaurant, offices and multi-purpose venue. Contemporary designs and surviving architecture will be interwoven to create a new Attercliffe Waterside that respects its industrial heritage and paves the way for a sustainable future.
A public and commercial square will also be created, alongside a series of south-facing courtyards and walkways down to the canal. The new pedestrian and cycling footbridge will connect Phase One to the south side of the river, opening up the community to Sheffield’s wider East End, additional green space and a tram stop for easy access to the city centre.
The first homes to be built on the site will consist of 3 & 4-bedroom townhouses and 1 & 2-bedroom apartments, all constructed using Citu’s ground-breaking timber-framed housing system. This combines bold architecture with flexible designs alongside sustainable, low carbon materials to ensure the highest standards of energy efficiency.
The houses will be constructed on a podium which sits above an under-croft car park, with plans to remove cars from specific stretches of Effingham Road which will be replaced with pedestrianisation, public realm and a cycle lane, all part of the scheme’s vision to create a landscape that prioritises people over cars.
Public art by local artists will also be introduced throughout the public and private spaces, with murals on building facades, existing building structures being repurposed as sculptural artefacts and imaginative new play areas integrated into the local landscape.
Chris Thompson, founder and co-director from Citu, said: “We are delighted to have secured planning permission for Phase One of Attercliffe Waterside that will kickstart the wider regeneration of Sheffield’s East End.
“It’s an area steeped in history and our plans have been inspired by the heritage industries that were powered by the waterways running through it. The area presents huge opportunities from its location alongside the canal and the River Don, with green space, the Olympic Legacy Park and easy access to the city centre by tram in just ten minutes.
“We are creating a new community in this beautiful waterside location that will have its own identity; one that pays homage to the area’s rich history but that adapts the landscape to address the various challenges of our day, not least the climate emergency.
“Attercliffe Waterside will enable future generations to live more sustainable lifestyles, in homes that are built to the highest environmental performance standards, setting an exemplar nationally for this type of regeneration.”
Following the planning decision, Cllr Ben Miskell, chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee, said: “The Attercliffe Waterside development is a tremendously ambitious project but one we are incredibly excited about and, working with Citu, are really looking forward to seeing it start to take shape very soon.
“The development will breathe new life into the area and it will be the residents who will give it that true sense of community, while benefitting from living in one of the largest low carbon neighbourhoods in the UK.
“The creation of this brilliant new community forms part of our wider vision for Sheffield and links in beautifully with the large number of regeneration projects we already have in progress. Sheffield is a city attracting people to come and live here all the time, projects like Attercliffe Waterside will inspire more to do the same.”
The land at Attercliffe Waterside was originally brought to market in 2019 and billed at the time as ‘one of the most exciting development opportunities in the north of England’. Citu was announced as the preferred developer in 2023.
