A new £86m building is set to be built at the University of Sheffield after the city council awarded it planning permission.
The Central Teaching Labs, set to be built next to the University tram stop on Hounsfield Road, had 14 formal objections lodged against it, mostly regarding the removal of mature trees from the site.
The original completion date of September 2027 has been pushed back due to the delayed start. This is because the application was shelved for the best part of a year due to financial constraints.
Eight mature trees will be cut down from the area in order to accommodate the 5-storey structure.
Christine King, Chair of the Sheffield Tree Action Groups, said: “It is simply no longer acceptable to treat trees as disposable objects.”
A final push to delay its approval was lodged by Green Party councillor Marieanne Elliot on similar grounds.
Sarah Hull, Council Planning Officer, acknowledged that the loss of trees was “regrettable”, but concluded that the university’s mitigation measures were sufficient to justify their removal.
The University has committed to planting 46 new trees, as well as eight street trees to replace those felled. However, King points out that replacing the environmental benefits of the original trees will “take decades”.
Student reactions to the approval were mixed. One anonymous student within the science faculty was excited about the new facility, remarking that with the entire building being net zero as well as the replanting, the environmental impact was ‘really not significant’.
However, the student was concerned about investment in a project she believed was “really not needed”, criticising the university for laying off staff members then committing £86m to the CTL.
