A planning application to demolish a former Yorkshire Bank in Chapeltown and replace it with a four story building with 25 new apartments and two ground floor commercial units is due to go in front of the Sheffield City Council next week on Tuesday.

The old bank has been closed and abandoned since the 11th August 2020.

Previously the new structure was intended to provide 35 new apartments but was rejected. A total of 31 objections were raised in response to the initial proposal. 

A large number of the objections were reported to be due to the problem the new structure would cause with parking in the area, as the report lists: “Detrimental impacts on parking and traffic in the area. Inadequate parking levels proposed including for deliveries and emergency services and general day to day servicing. Inadequate parking facilities in the area may detrimentally impact local businesses”.

Objections to the design, proximity to the local church and materials used in the construction have also been put forward.

“Concern is raised that cladding would appear out of place. Concern about proximity of the development to the church and obstruction of light due to its height”.

Despite the amendments to the designs being proposed, the planning application has since still received a total of 21 objections.

The report said: “The Local Planning Authority consider that the proposed development by reason of the unsatisfactory design of the public realm by virtue of its compromised accessibility and legibility result in the failure to provide equivalent or better provision in terms of quantity of open space”.

There also appears to be a lack of a section 106 agreement, which is a legal contract between a local authority and a developer, otherwise known as a planning obligation.

It has been recommended that the council refuse the proposal in the report due to the number of issues raised with the planning. The decision is set to be made next week.