{"id":53146,"date":"2024-03-04T11:42:31","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T11:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?p=53146"},"modified":"2024-03-04T14:10:59","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T14:10:59","slug":"neepsend-furnace-hill-funding-boost-residents-reaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/03\/04\/neepsend-furnace-hill-funding-boost-residents-reaction\/","title":{"rendered":"Neepsend and Furnace Hill: \u00a367m funding boost throws up mixed feelings for residents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A \u00a367m funding package, which promises to provide 1,300 new homes in Sheffield city centre, has been met with ambivalence from residents, who warned \u201cwe\u2019re not getting the facilities\u201d to accompany it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Announced last Friday by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove at the Convention of the North conference in Leeds, the funding from Homes England promised to \u201ckickstart the transformation\u201d of former industrial areas Neepsend and Furnace Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But residents of the adjacent Kelham Island neighbourhood, which encompasses the newly acquired Neepsend Brownfield plot, said that the neighbourhood\u2019s current lack of amenities needs to be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a park, we don\u2019t have shops, we don\u2019t have a pharmacy, we don\u2019t have a post office,\u201d said 65-year-old Ben McGarry, who chairs Kelham Island & Neepsend Community Alliance (KINCA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have the things that you would normally find when a community is set up. So we\u2019re going to add more people but we\u2019re not getting the facilities to go with that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Kate McCusker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sheffield City Council said that the new Neepsend neighbourhood would provide a range of housing, local facilities and green spaces \u2013 something residents flagged as sorely lacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to council leader, Tom Hunt, the nearby Furnace Hill neighbourhood would incorporate a mix of residential homes alongside new local facilities, commercial and leisure premises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think having more residents where they’re planning to have them is ideal because it’s a rundown, abandoned area,\u201d added Mr McGarry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut from our point of view, they’ve got to make sure that it’s not just one beds and that there are some garden spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The council said that minimum 20% of the new homes would be \u201ctruly affordable accommodation\u201d and that a network of new public spaces and streets would be built to improve Kelham Island\u2019s connection to the city centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Councillor Douglas Johnson. Picture: Sheffield Green Party<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ward councillor Douglas Johnson told the Sheffield Wire that the project \u201cis the result of the last three years of work\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cI am glad that Homes England recognises the need for place-building \u2013 this means green space, schools and doctors, not just numbers of dwelling-units. Housing needs to be the right mix, to provide for long-term residents and families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Neepsend plans sought to attract more young families to the area, which residents said is largely populated by students, young professionals and retirees owing to a lack of a school and the dominance of flats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beth Maples, a 32-year-old financial manager who moved into the area seven years ago with her partner, said this resulted in a high turnover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said: \u201cWe\u2019ve had maybe six neighbours in the time we\u2019ve been here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Neepsend Bridge. Photo: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Her partner Calin Lapugean, 38, who owns tech repair company iRepairStop, added that he was frustrated by the lack of input Kelham residents have in the area\u2019s redevelopment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cI think the main problem is that they don’t actually ask anybody that lives in the area what they think they should do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019d think they\u2019d want to develop some parks or outdoor space or something. There\u2019s nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This absence of input from residents isn\u2019t for lack of trying on the part of KINCA. While Kelham Island used to have an area forum that met with the council, McGarry said they gave up \u201cbecause it was a complete waste of time\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCouncil planning departments \u2013 certainly Sheffield ones \u2013 are being cut back and cut back,\u201d he said. \u201cSo developers get away with whatever they want, really.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Kelham Island Conservation Area encompasses the planned development at Neepsend. Picture: Sheffield City Council<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For 32-year-old flood risk engineer, Edward Hill, his own experience with developers is a cautionary tale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cI\u2019ve lived in my flat for seven years and it\u2019s been an absolute disgrace from start to finish and it\u2019s just getting more expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m actually trying to sell at the minute at a massive loss just to try and get out.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bought with the government\u2019s Help to Buy scheme, Edwards said he was struggling to afford his building\u2019s \u00a32,000 annual service charge alongside a rising mortgage and \u00a3250 per year in ground rent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n