Hammerson and Arup Fight Squire Sheffield Tower

Design firm Arup are said to be working on a replacement for the existing building for their client Hammerson PLC who are the key player in Sheffield's New Retail Quarter, a massive redevelopment of part of Sheffield. As part of this is the 15 floor 47 metre tall hotel building, Grosvenor House, that was completed in 1966. It sits above a podium with ground floor retail units. In an indication of how seriously the developer is taking the project, Hammerson has already expressed their concern about the effect of the nearby Squire designed Chesham House on their own as yet unreleased scheme when responding during consultations on that proposal which they oppose. It is in these documents that Hammerson that they object to Chesham House on the basis of sustainability, environmental impact, sight lines and overshadowing arguing most of all that the Chesham House planning application does not have enough information showing it will not effect their own scheme. They also refer specifically to the AOD height of their project as a "24 storey... residential tower (a maximum of 152m high)". Sources however state that the eventual building could go taller than this. Redevelopment plans have been well known for some time. For years the concept sketches of the New Retail Quarter have shown a curving glass tower on the site replacing Grosvenor House but no firm designs have yet surfaced. What this means in the short-term is that the planning application for Chesham House is likely to become more complicated as Hammerson fight selflessly against a rival development, not for their own interests but because they care about sustainability so much. Due to go before the planning committee last week, and with no less than a recommendation from the planners that it be approved, the decision has now been deferred as a result of the complaints. It's something that Chesham House can overcome easily enough by being resubmitted to Sheffield City Council with all the additional documents to please the critics but right now Hammerson has succeeded in getting it delayed on a technicality.