Comprehensive plans to deliver a new £50 million retail, leisure and office scheme for Waverley in Rotherham, delivering over 190,000 sq. ft. of mixed-use space and creating 700 new jobs, have been approved by Rotherham Council.
The new development, brought forward by Waverley Square Limited, a joint venture between Harworth Group plc and Dransfield Properties Ltd, is a central part in the ongoing regeneration of the 740 acre Waverley site, Yorkshire’s largest ever brownfield development, close to Junction 33 of the M1.
The centre will link the internationally renowned Advanced Manufacturing Park, home to major employers including Boeing and Sheffield University and 1,500 employees, and Waverley’s growing residential community, where 700 homes have been built and occupied over the past four years.
Dransfield Properties Ltd and Harworth Group Plc announced the joint venture agreement to deliver the development last year. They have worked with South Yorkshire architects Dixon Dawson on a stunning design which will bring new community facilities as well as restaurants and retail space to this thriving area.
The approved development will feature:
· Healthcare and new community facilities, including a new bus station
· Up to 99,000 sq. ft. for a new foodstore and retail space
· High specification office space covering 38,000 sq. ft.
· Restaurants, coffee shops and a gym
· A car park with up to 500 customer spaces as well as a separate staff car park.
An attractive roof top walkway and gardens have been incorporated into the design, as well as landscaped piazza areas with multi jet fountains and a “town square” where Farmers’ Markets can be hosted. Development is expected to take two years to reach full build out, with construction work due to begin in Spring 2018.
Approval for the local centre is the latest success for Waverley during 2017. It follows the sale of land parcels to Taylor Wimpey for the build out of a further 130 homes in June, and McLaren Automotive’s announcement in July that it will take space at a 75,000 sq. ft. unit that Harworth is building on its behalf. This unit is due for practical completion in Spring 2018.
Owen Michaelson, Chief Executive of Harworth Group plc, said: “This is a key development for Rotherham and for the Sheffield City Region in that it will create the sort of high-quality
local facilities that both businesses at the Advanced Manufacturing Park and local residents increasingly expect. Waverley is growing into a prominent placemaking destination in the region and these facilities will further attract new residents and businesses to live and work at the development.”
Mark Dransfield, Managing Director of Dransfield Properties, said: “We are delighted that our application for Waverley has now been approved by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.
“We have been keen from the outset to design a genuinely outstanding scheme befitting of Waverley, with architecture and materials to match. With the combined experience and knowledge of our two companies we are confident we will deliver an excellent scheme for Waverley to serve this growing community over the next two and a half years.”
This is the latest in a number of similar high-profile developments for Dransfield Properties, which just last year launched the company’s flagship Fox Valley development in north Sheffield on a former steelworks site. The company has also won a number high profile industry awards including the BCSC Gold Award for Marshall’s Yard – a sympathetic redevelopment of a former industrial site in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.