News and views

It seems that the sale of the Tapton Halls of Residence and Experimental Gardens site to Miller Homes may not now go ahead as the developer is getting cold feet over the project. If Miller Homes pull out the University intend to remarket the entire site to a new developer, who is likely to want to begin over with a new development scheme.

One might hope that the demise of the Miller Homes scheme would be an opportunity to do things better next time and to seriously consider alternatives for the site that might enable the community to realise our aspirations, while at the same time providing good value for the University. However there are no signs that the University are willing to consider their 'best value' responsibilities in anything other than purely financial terms. The uncertainty over the future of the site has even put our proposal to purchase Pisgah House as a community partnership on ice.

It is profoundly depressing to contemplate the prospect of fighting yet another inappropriate planning application for this site with a new developer. We can only hope that all the previous work that we have done has at least alerted the council planners to the importance of this site for our conservation area.

New to the area and wondering what all this is about? Read our campaign page to catch up. The Secret Garden was saved from redevelopment as a housing estate last year, thanks to the BANG's vigorous and well-supported campaign to oppose planning permision for the site. For a full report on the public planning inquiry, that allows you to download and read BANG's case and evidence, follow this link.

BANG's community representative attending the Planning Board made the following statement to the Committee:
"We are pleased that the refurbished York is a well-managed community-minded pub, and it is for just that reason that we are so disappointed that it is trying to move into the nocturnal market where it would start to go after a different clientele and have a very different impact on our neighbourhood. It was set up with clear boundaries as a pub in a residential district. Broomhill is a dormitory suburb of the City. It is not a strip development from the City centre, but a distinct residential neighbourhood which could be sustained with your help.

The District Shopping Centre of Broomhill is not an area of shops beyond which is a separate residential area. Rather, it is a single street of shops, with two minor branches, and the residential area comes right up to that street. Moreover, there is an increasing tendency for residential accommodation to come back into the upper floors of the shops themselves. An example is the development which you approved on the corner of Whitham Road and Nile Street, in the same small block as the York; and the flats over the York itself are a crucial example.

It is therefore clear why many of the 53 objectors are worried about the impact on a slightly wider radius than the flats immediately over the pub. I believe your terms of reference entitle you to consider that impact.

Regarding the limitation suggested by the Officer, that ‘little weight’ can be given to local residents’ concerns about the behaviour of customers dispersing from public houses in the small hours, we would nevertheless ask you to give it as much weight as you are able. The limitation relies on one Appeal decision, which was made on the basis of a site visit in broad daylight during the holidays. In any future cases, a very different impression might be formed if, for example, video evidence were submitted as to the situation in the middle of the night in term time.

We therefore ask you to reaffirm the conditions which you so recently imposed on these premises."

Broomhill 'Good Neighbours' local officers 'on the beat' in our neighbourhood
‘Good neighbours, great communities’ is a council initiative designed to modernise the way that local people interact with a range of council services. Three temporary officers are now in place as this project moves into its next phase. It is aimed at improving the quality of life for residents in areas where there is a high proportion of houses in multiple occupation. The pilot area is quite extensive and straddles the Assembly areas for the South, the South West and Central which includes Broomhill.The officers work flexible hours from Monday to Saturday. They promise to be highly visible in the community and to work when they will have the greatest impact – including in the small hours if need be. They provide a one-stop-shop to provide a response to issues such as street noise, antisocial behaviour, illegal property development, fly posting, fly tipping and to premises breaching their licenses. They are also available to intervene when events that could cause disruption, such as organised bar crawls, are planned. If you have any requests for help or feedback on this project you can contact The Good Neighbours Team on 2037410 or email good.neighbours@sheffield.gov.uk.