Bluecastle primes Sheffield BTR development

Proposed changes to a 336-apartment project approved in 2022 have been put forward, with designs by architect 5plus.

Bluecastle’s site is to the south of Sheffield’s mainline station, on Farm Road, with a BTR scheme proposed for the brownfield British Rail Sports Club plot.

Consent was given in March 2022 for a proposal designed by Bond Bryan for Penistone-based property company Fairbank Investments, which has since sold the scheme onto Bluecastle, a London-based BTR specialist.

In headline figure terms, the scheme is the same: the project remains as 23 storeys at its tallest, with other blocks coming in at 10 storeys and 17 storeys.

It is in layout and breakdown of apartment sizes where the differences come: the fresh proposal has lost 12 one-bed and 16-three bed apartments, with these 28 homes now proposed at two bedrooms each.

This puts the proposal at 156 one-bedroom, 168 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom flats. As set out by 5plus in its design & access statement, the layout has been “revised to improve the plan arrangement of the building and to create a better separation between the building’s forms”.

Layout changes also offer future-proofing for expected fire regulation changes, it is noted.

Another alteration sees a residents’ lounge of 4,800 sq ft become 12,000 sq ft of resident amenity space, with gym space being slightly increased too. Car parking and cycle spaces have been reduced, from 29 to 19 car spaces and 358 to 336 cycle spots.

Planning advisor Iceni pushed the scheme’s sustainability credentials in its planning statement: “The scheme amendments will provide a more energy efficient and sustainable building through a significant decrease in carbon emissions.

“It is in a highly sustainable location and will have a 100% provision of cycle parking, encouraging the use of sustainable modes of transport. It will also provide increased levels of tree planting and new habitats for local wildlife.” The landscape architect is Layer Studio.

Farm Road’s professional team also includes Apex, Cass Allan, Development & Light, Consolux, Cahill Design Consultants, Estrada Ecology, GIA. HSP Consulting, Weddle, Arctic Fire and RLB.

In addition to Sheffield, Bluecastle Capital is also advancing BTR projects at Central Square Cardiff and in Stevenage.

The request to amend the consent is now validated on Sheffield’s planning portal, with the reference 24/02237/FUL.