Sheffield Catalyst Sites - Neepsend and Furnace Hill Development Opportunity

Description

The purpose of this PIN notice is to gauge market interest and seek initial feedback from parties in the opportunity to bring forward the comprehensive development of two significantly important regeneration sites in Sheffield City Centre. Located to the north of the City Centre, the Neepsend Catalyst Site is situated along the south bank of the River Don with capacity for up to 480 new dwellings and ancillary uses. The neighbouring Furnace Hill Catalyst Site is separated by the Shalesmoor arterial route with capacity for over 820 new dwellings and again other non-residential uses. The vision is for these sites to become two distinct, vibrant new neighbourhoods for people to live, work and play in the heart of the City. Homes England and the Council are seeking Development Partners who share the same ambition and vision for the City. Furnace Hill and Neepsend both have an industrial heritage but inherently different characteristics with the potential for each neighbourhood to provide a distinct, varied residential offer. Homes England’s current preference is to appoint a different Development Partner for each site (one Development Partner for Neepsend and one Development Partner for Furnace Hill) to maximise resources, spread risk and accelerate delivery. Interested parties are invited to review the supplementary information which will be available ProContract using the following link https://procontract.due-north.com/Procurer/Advert/View?advertId=d2475da8-9d5f-ef11-812e-005056b64545&fromAdvertEvent=True. We have a small number of questions we would like responses. The questions can be requested from the FurnessHillNeepsend@homesengland.gov.uk email. The closing date for responses is 20 September 2024. Interested parties are encouraged to register to the following eTendering system http://procontract.due-north.com/Login if not already registered. Lot 1: Working closely with the City Council through the Sheffield Together Partnership, Homes England is progressing a comprehensive programme of place-based regeneration activity in Sheffield City Centre. The Council has identified two principal sites within Furnace Hill and Neepsend as catalysts for the regeneration of its urban core. The vision is for these sites to become two distinct, vibrant new neighbourhoods for people to live, work and play in the heart of the City. Located to the north of the City Centre, Neepsend is situated along the south bank of the River Don with the neighbouring Furnace Hill separated by the Shalesmoor arterial route. Together, these two Catalyst sites have the potential to deliver: • Over 820 new homes at Furnace Hill comprising mainly of mid-rise apartment blocks with a landmark tower. • Up to 480 new homes at Neepsend comprising for a diverse range of typologies including town houses and apartments with an emphasis on attracting families . • Two new public squares and improved access to the River Don, including a new riverside walkway and amenity spaces. • Restoration and repurposing of the area’s unique Listed Buildings and heritage assets. • Approximately 4,250 sqm floorspace of commercial and ancillary uses such as retail, leisure, work spaces and cafes. Homes England has jointly prepared a Development Framework with the Council to inform and guide the delivery of these two important Catalyst Sites in line with the emerging Local Plan. It builds upon the principles set out in the Council’s Priority Neighbourhood Frameworks (November 2022) and provides an additional level of design guidance, informed by detailed capacity testing, heritage assessments, stakeholder engagement and further technical due diligence. The sites cover approximately 5 hectares which are in fragmented ownership. Homes England is actively undertaking a land assembly exercise to acquire the freehold interests to bring forward the timely comprehensive redevelopment. Its Board has resolved to use its statutory powers to compulsory acquire if absolutely necessary. In March 2024, Homes England secured £67m of Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land (BIL) funding to invest in these Catalyst sites to help deliver the required transformational change. This investment will not only support the completion of the land assembly exercise but will also help deliver a package of placemaking works, to bring forward the comprehensive redevelopment of these sites. Furnace Hill and Neepsend both have an industrial heritage but inherently different characteristics with the potential for each neighbourhood to provide a distinct, varied residential offer. Homes England’s current preference is to appoint a Development Partner for each site (one Development Partner for Neepsend and one Development Partner for Furnace Hill) to maximise resources, spread risk and accelerate delivery. Building on the planned investment package, Homes England is seeking to select Development Partners not only with the required commercial capacity but critically those with the necessary place-making skills and expertise to maximise the opportunity now presented. The appointed Development Partners will be required to prepare the detailed scheme designs in line with the Development Framework and be responsible for securing the necessary planning, conservation area and listed building consents. Given the timing of completing the acquisitions and to accelerate delivery, Homes England will look to forward fund the scheme design costs to help de-risk the planning uncertainty. The form of appointment will be through a bespoke form of partnership Development Agreement with the envisaged phased delivery of development parcels in line with agreed business plans and key performance obligations. The objective is for Homes England and the Council to retain an on-going interest to ensure delivery whilst harnessing the commercial expertise, resources and innovation of the development sector.