£55m plan submitted to knock down empty Sheffield factory off Netherthorpe Road for 158 'build-to-rent' flats

A former factory off Sheffield’s Netherthorpe Road could be knocked down to build a block of ‘luxury’ rent-only flats.

Sheffield City Council has rubber-stamped plans for 158 build-to-rent apartments in place of the former William Rowland Ltd premises on Meadow Street, off Netherthorpe Road.

The scheme by developer Beech Holdings, named ‘Sheffield Gardens’, will include 158 units of one, two and three bedroomed apartments available for rent only, including a private gym, landscaped courtyard and roof-top gardens for residents.

One of the groups supporting the plan is Urbana Town Planning, who in 2022 wrote a letter to the council on behalf of a then-unnamed applicant asking for an assessment of build 370 flats at the same site.

Work is scheduled to start before the end of 2024 with the demolition of the William Rowland Ltd building.

Subscribe to The Star’s newsletter for all the latest news in Sheffield delivered straight to your door.

Stephen Beech, CEO of Beech Holdings said: “...this unused and unloved commercial site is in exactly the location we want to breathe new life into. We’ll be creating over 100 immediate jobs for the construction phase and we’ll have a permanent staff of at least 10 to deliver residents a premium level of service and maintenance.”

Beech Holdings also claims their plans will feature “100 per cent bio-diversity net gain” through the inclusion of gardens and bird/bat boxes.

Neil Baumber, development director at Beech Holdings, said: “We are actively looking at other sites in Sheffield, we feel we can offer the standard of accommodation that local people desire. We’ll be getting to work quickly in the final quarter of this year.”

The Sheffield Gardens scheme is supported by architect Leach Rhodes Walker, consultants The Cumming Group, sustainability experts Hydrock and planning consultants, Urbana.