All aboard for £7m '˜Ecclesall junction' in Sheffield

The old Peugeot garage, next to the Waitrose supermarket, would be converted into seven units under the scheme, called Ecclesall Junction.

New signs announcing the venture went up at the site earlier this month, but further details have now been revealed in a planning application submitted to Sheffield Council by the site’s owner, Nikal. As part of the plans, the former car showroom, which has been empty for years, would be extended to the rear over two floors, creating more than 3,480 sq m of floor space in total.

A range of uses are proposed for the new units – two large units and five smaller ones – from shops, restaurants and cafés to a gym, a bar and room for businesses.

Landscaping features and protective measures for the Porter Brook river are promised, along with 81 car parking spaces.

The gym would be open for 24 hours, the cafés from 7am to midnight and the shops would have the flexibility to open between 9am and 9pm. At least 20 to 30 jobs could be created.

The main entrance to the site for cars will be off Ecclesall Road – the existing shared access road with Waitrose – with exits on to Harrow Street.

Built in 1996, the Peugeot showroom was used for 15 years until the company moved to a new garage near Attercliffe.

The building’s steel frame would be re-used to create smaller individual units which can be leased more easily than one large commercial space, which is required by relatively few retailers, a design statement by architects Axis said.

The development will target more affluent Waitrose customers, but the scheme will be ‘beneficial for both retailers’, Axis added.

“One can feed off the custom of the other, and vice versa.”

The area is experiencing ‘significant growth’ because of ‘many factors’, the firm said - among them the ‘destination status’ of Ecclesall Road’s shops and restaurants and an increase in student numbers, with an associated need for new flats and apartments.

“The site lends itself greatly to development, being situated on one of the main commuter thoroughfares from Sheffield city centre to the residential areas of Ecclesall, Millhouses, Whirlow, Fulwood and Ranmoor.”

Planning officers will prepare a report with a recommendation ahead of any decision by councillors.