Story: Rohan Francis
The Council's Masterplan to renew homes on Skinnerthorpe and Bagley Roads has been all but abandoned after the Environment Agency identified that around half the site was at risk of flooding.
Recent proposals to build a new primary school in Fir Vale (see New primary school for Fir Vale) will use part of the site. The Council insists that a school can more easily be designed to cope with flooding than housing.
New homes, promised to local residents under the 2003 Housing Market Renewal programme, have not materialised on the site, despite the demolition of over 140 Victorian properties, which were cleared to allow regeneration to get underway.
The Council is now saying that reusing the area for housing became “significantly limited when a large part of the site was designated by the Environment Agency as part of the flood plain”. They also admitted that the economic crisis and Government cuts have limited the chance of rebuilding houses in the near future.
The original Skinnerthorpe Masterplan, included the construction of a new road layout, community facilities, 22 new family homes and 36 retirement flats. Now that the Council is proposing an alteration to the original plan to include the school, residents of Fir Vale must be involved in discussions about the changes to the plans, and be provided with the chance to feed back their views. This was set out in the Residents’ and Businesses Charter, part of the Masterplan.
The Jamia Mosque on Firth Park Road, have also requested use of land on Skinnerthorpe Road for a community building. The group presented a request to the Council in November, who said they would look into it.
Six properties remain standing on Skinnerthorpe Road. The Council are awaiting agreement with the owner before demolition, but said this would not hold up plans for the school.
The Messenger was also told that plans to redevelop land on Earl Marshal Road will go ahead. 73 homes will be built by the Sheffield Housing Company, a partnership with ‘Keepmoat Housing’, ‘Great Places’ and the Council. The start date will be brought forward 1 year with community consultation beginning April 2013 and construction hoped to start October 2014.