Homes England cash injection to unlock 1,300 Sheffield homes

Homes England has agreed a £67m funding package to support the creation of two new developments in Sheffield. The funding will support land assembly and enabling works across 12 acres of brownfield and underutilised land at Furnace Hill and Neepsend (pictured), paving the way for some 1,300 new homes and 40,000 sq ft of commercial space.. Chief executive Peter Denton said: “A core part of our remit is to utilise all the tools at our disposal to help places to achieve their vision for their area. Our work with Sheffield City Council over the last two years is a prime example of what this looks like in practice. We’ve worked in partnership with the council and other local stakeholders to create a viable action plan, and now we’re providing the funding to help make it happen.”  The proposals to transform Furnace Hill and Neepsend have been spearheaded by the Sheffield Together Housing Growth Board, which includes Sheffield City Council, Homes England, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, the Sheffield Property Association and the South Yorkshire Housing Partnership.  Oliver Coppard, mayor of South Yorkshire, said:  “We have just signed a Strategic Place Partnership between Homes England and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. This very welcome government announcement of support in Sheffield will help us build early momentum with our business planning to support housing growth and regeneration across the wider South Yorkshire area.” The vision of the Sheffield Together partnership is to transform Furnace Hill and Neepsend into two distinct and vibrant urban neighbourhoods, capitalising upon their historic and natural assets to create a varied townscape, with a network of new public spaces and streets to improve connections between the city centre and Kelham Island. Tom Hunt, leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “This major investment will help to create two new city centre neighbourhoods on brownfield land. It will help to breathe new life into Furnace Hill and Neepsend and create great neighbourhoods with 1,300 new homes.” Image © Homes England