4.8 Riverside Quarter

Principles

Degree of intervention
Opportunities for dramatic change are emerging in the Riverside Quarter. The degree of intervention recommended is therefore Reinvention and Reconfiguration.

Activity
Foster a connection to street or riverside activity by encouraging active ground floor uses such as shops, cafes, bars or outdoor terraces. This will create a vibrant atmosphere in the quarter and offer Riverside residents or workers local shopping facilities and places to meet.

Along the riverfront, ensure that all new buildings address the river in their siting and design. This may include active ground floor frontages, outdoor terraces or public spaces which link into the riverside walkways. Set back new buildings from the river to continue the riverside walkways and promote traditional landscaping themes.

Architectural style and materials
Conserve and enhance significant heritage sites, such as the Wicker Arches and the Wicker Arches Works. Retain these buildings as a reference to the city’s industrial or riverside heritage through sensitive, adaptive reuse schemes.

Conserve and enhance significant heritage sites, such as the Wicker Arches and the Wicker Arches Works. Retain these buildings as a reference to the city’s industrial or riverside heritage through sensitive, adaptive reuse schemes.

The opportunities presented by the IRR project should be embraced to introduce a high quality of built form, enhance the public realm of the quarter, foster connection with the riverside environment and establish open spaces.

Outside areas of noted sensitivity, encourage high quality innovative architecture which ‘pushes the boundaries’ and assists in establishing a new identity for the Riverside Quarter.

Within areas or streetscapes of noted sensitivity, namely Victoria Quays, the Wicker and Lady’s Bridge, new development should reflect the scale of neighbouring buildings.

In the character areas of the quarter building materials should be sensitive to the character of that area. Outwith these areas modern materials will be permitted. These should be sourced locally and from sustainably managed resources whenever possible to contribute to the sustainable development of the quarter (refer part 3.2)

Detailed guidance on building design, orientation and materials is set out in Part 3.2 Guidance - Architectural Quality.

Building form and height
The streets of the Riverside Quarter should be given a sense of enclosure and continuity with solid and strong built form presented to the street. The scale and form of the traditional works and warehouses could be adopted as the basis for new building in the Riverside Quarter to achieve this effect.

With the reconfiguration of existing urban form, a range of building heights will emerge in this quarter. Generally, buildings will be 2-6 storeys, however, taller buildings could be used to give definition to principal streets and gateways. Appropriate building height will be determined by the potential impact on the appearance or amenity of the surrounding area.

Refer ‘Creating a sense of Enclosure’ in architectural guidance.

Public realm
The Riverside quarter will generally adhere to material palette and street furniture suite for Secondary Zones as set out in table 5.1 and 5.2 respectively (part 5.1) except along the riverfront at Victoria Quay where the Primary Zone palette of materials and street furniture set out in these tables will apply (refer diagram 3.3).

Provide open space in residential projects in the form of private courtyards at the rear of the site, or balconies which will also assist in articulating the building facade. Where buildings are set back from the street, ensure that this space is well landscaped and not dominated by curtilage carparking.

Create a distinct identity for the principal gateway streets in the Riverside Quarter, such as the completed IRR section, Furnival Street, Corporation Street and the Wicker, with boulevard planting and carefully designed public realm details in either natural or manufactured materials.

Effective connections for pedestrians and cyclists from Riverside to Victoria Quays, Castlegate and the Cathedral Quarter are vital. The IRR project will create opportunities to overcome the severance currently experienced by the heavy traffic of Castlegate, Bridge Street and West Bar. Strengthen these linkages through themed public realm designs.

Embrace the potential of the river as a place for recreation and exploration. Develop the existing network of riverside connections with additional pathways, raised boardwalks (where buildings are constructed to the river bank) and pedestrian bridges. Continue the program of themed riverside trails and public artworks which reflect the river’s role in Sheffield’s history and evolution.

Establish Nursery Street as a riverside boulevard, with a slow traffic environment enabled by the IRR completion. Reclaim this section of the riverbank as a linear park, to become a vital green space in the quarter.

Here, and elsewhere along the riverbank, foster the river’s natural heritage with wilderness planting. In addition to this, encourage wildlife back to the river by initiating a program to improve the water quality.

< Previous | Top | Back to main Quarter Plan | Next >