It’s encouraging news when a Sheffield construction project pays tribute to the past. This is the case with Great Central, a development from CODA Studios, now underway at Neepsend, close to the flourishing Kelham Island district.
The £22million residential development takes its name from the former Great Central Main Line, once known as the London extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. Opened in 1899, trains stopped at nearby Victoria Station until Dr Beeching axed most of the route between 1966 and 1969.
Passenger services ended at Victoria Station in January 1970 with most of the buildings long demolished.
Terraced houses once occupied the sloping site between Mowbray Street, Chatham Street, Swinton Street and Pitsmoor Road. These were demolished in the 1950s, the land left vacant, apart from a filling station at the bottom end of the plot.
Of course, generations will know the area as being the late-night location for Greasy Vera’s snack bar – a Sheffield institution – now long gone.
Once completed, Great Central will be a series of red brick blocks, with zinc panels, ranging from four to nine storeys in height. The development will provide 131 flats, with one, two or three bedrooms, clustered around a courtyard, with retail units at ground floor level.
Prices will range between £115,000 and £230,000.
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