Sheffield launches Conservation Area review

The heritage consultancy team at Donald Insall Associates has been commissioned to carry out phase one of the appraisal scheme, which focuses on the city centre and Kelham Island.

Historic and famous sites will be put forward for protected status during a six week public consultation, which goes live today and runs until 18 July.

The city centre conservation area is to include parts of Castlegate, Fitzalan Square, Norfolk Street, and West Street, while Kelham Island and Neepsend Industrial Conservation Area will include an area to the north of Neepsend and Moorfield Flats.

The council is using data-driven insights to decide where to regenerate, in an effort to streamline the planning system, and the project is being funded by a skills grant from the government and Historic England.

Phase two of the 18 month project, which was launched at the end of January, will focus on the areas of Ranmoor, Endcliffe, Norton, and Oaks Park.

Characteristics being considered for potential conservation area sites include historic buildings and unique architecture.

Cllr Ben Miskell, chair of the transport, regeneration and climate policy committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “Sheffield is a city that is changing all the time: it’s improving, modernising, and preparing for the generations to come.

“But it is a city with a varied and vitally important history, one we cannot and will not ignore.

“The review into these Conservation Areas shows that we take our role as keepers of Sheffield’s historic past incredibly seriously and we will do all we can, as a council, to ensure the most historically important sites are kept and maintained as much as possible.”

Cllr Janet Ridler, heritage champion at Sheffield City Council, said: “From medieval Sheffield Castle, where Mary, Queen of Scots was held captive, to Kelham Island at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, Sheffield is a city teeming with historic and iconic places.

“These places are not just important to us here in the city and the surrounding area; some hold national and even international significance, and it is vitally important that we preserve them for generations to come.

“This review will ensure that this happens and will signal to any potential developer that those areas are to be preserved and protected.”

Those wishing to give feedback can do so here.