Former steelworks homes plan set to be approved

The housing scheme will be part of the first phase of the Attercliffe Waterside development

Plans to build hundreds of new homes in Sheffield’s former steelworks heartland are set to take a step forward.

The first phase of the Attercliffe Waterside development is expected to be approved by councillors later.

They will discuss a planning application for 362 homes with commercial buildings, public space and a new footbridge on the site of the former Spartan Works on Attercliffe Road.

The land borders the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal, Staniforth Road and the grade II listed Baltic Works, which is a surviving example of a Victorian crucible steelworks.

In a report, planning officers said: “Attercliffe has an important historical association with the steel industry, and the late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the rapid development of terraced workers’ housing to support the growing industry.

“The decline of the steel industry, together with slum clearance, resulted in the significant shrinking of the local population.

“There is little residential development in Attercliffe, with the nearest neighbourhood being in Darnall.”

The council said Attercliffe had a “poor image” because of heavy traffic, untidy open spaces and run-down empty buildings and plots of land.

The Adelphi cinema building is due to be redeveloped with levelling up funding

The wider Attercliffe Waterside scheme covers 22 acres of land owned by Sheffield Council, some of which was bought from the Canal and River Trust and the Duke of Norfolk Estates.

The council and developer Citu formed a partnership in 2022 to create Attercliffe Waterside on brownfield land either side of the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal.

They said it would be be one of the largest zero carbon communities in the UK, featuring more than 1,000 homes alongside creative workspaces, an arts venue and retail opportunities to bring the neighbourhood to life.

Sheffield Council also received £17m of levelling up money to focus on a Centre for Child Health Technology and a new Adelphi Square, incorporating the old grade II listed cinema, in Attercliffe.