Sama tweaks Sheffield PBSA

Plans approved in 2022 for student living on the site of the former Globe II Business Centre on Maltravers Road have been adjusted as the applicant looks to add bedspaces.

Advised by Sheffield practice AXIS Architecture, Sama Investment Group is looking to maintain the footprint of the scheme consented in December 2022, namely a building that is parts five, seven and 11 storeys tall.

The developer now wants to increase the number of units by making internal adjustments to the approved proposal.

The amended development proposed comprises 453 units, split to include 429 self-contained studios and 24 six-bed cluster flats with en-suite shower rooms and shared kitchen and dining/lounge facilities – so in all, it could house up to 573 students.

As approved in December 2022, the site has consent for 354 studios and 24 six-bed clusters, potentially housing up to 498 students.

Sama said that the proposed changes result in a revised ratio of communal space of 2.05 sq m per  student, still “well above the industry norm of 1.4 sq m per student”.

In addition, the development also has the benefit of a landscaped communal terrace at Level 7 which has been amended to include an area of mini golf to the rear of the middle wing of accommodation.

The remaining areas of bio-diverse roofs and the south-facing landscaped garden courtyard, at first floor level, are unchanged from the previously consented scheme.

Sizes of studios vary across the scheme, at different levels, with the main changes occurring at the upper floor levels. Sama is also looking to maintain the flerxiblity inherent in the initial plan, combining units to suit a mainstream residential use.

Sama’s site is located at 128 Maltravers Road, close to the city centre. The site is located at western end of Maltravers Road, close to the junction with Cricket Inn Road and the 14-storey Hyde Park flats development.

The site occupies an elevated position part way up the valley, with steeply sloping topography, immediately adjacent to the Wybourn housing estate, with views across the city and with an extensive area of green space to the rear of the site, to the south.

A short distance to the north is the Supertram network with the nearest stop approximately 100m away and the A57 Sheffield Parkway, the main arterial route into and out of the city, linking to the M1 and M18 motorway networks.

The plans can be viewed on Sheffield City Council’s planning portal with the reference 23/01937/FUL. The previous scheme’s reference is 22/02459/FUL.