£146m flats revamp plan on show

An artist's impression of the transformed Park Hill flats

Plans for the £146m regeneration of a Sheffield landmark go on show in the city on Tuesday.

The city centre's Park Hill flats, Britain's biggest Grade II (star) listed building, is set to be turned into 900 new homes.

A planning application has been submitted to Sheffield City Council for phase one of the project, the refurbishment of North Block.

The plans will be on display at Park Hill community centre, Duke Street.

Representatives from developers Urban Splash and the council will be there to answer questions.

Councillor Chris Weldon said: "I would urge everyone with an interest in Park Hill to come along and have their say on the proposals.

"It is a flagship regeneration project near the heart of the city so it's vital that everyone who wants to comment gets the opportunity to do so."

Run down

The application also proposes improved connections with the city centre and landscaping works.

The new homes will be for sale or rent and will include affordable housing.

English Partnerships has given a grant of £14.8m towards the project and at least £100m will come from the developers. A further £9.85m has been given by the Housing Corporation to provide affordable housing.

The redevelopment will form part of Sheffield's new retail quarter project, which will create 17 acres of shopping space and cost about £590m.

When the Park Hill flats were completed in 1961 the buildings were held up as the most ambitious inner-city development of their time.

But by the late-1990s Park Hill had become run down and was no longer a popular place to live. The building suffered from a lack of maintenance and the council was unable to modernise the flats to the national standard required.