New lease of life for former filling station

A FORMER petrol station in Sheffield has been transformed into a mixed-use scheme which has created a number of jobs.

The site has been rebuilt by developer AJ Senior to create two restaurant units and a retail unit.

The lease on the first part of the building has already been taken by a 96-cover Pizza Express which has opened, while the second unit is set to open as a Nando’s restaurant.

The scheme has been developed with the support of a £900,000 loan from Lloyds TSB Commercial.
 
Owner Andrew Senior established AJ Senior to develop the site during a reorganisation of his family business interests.

The site had originally been operated as a filling station by his father in the 1960s and 70s and was later leased to a national oil company. The petrol station was fully decommissioned in 2001, with the tanks removed and the site environmentally cleansed.
 
Following the granting of planning permission in 2009, Mr Senior approached Lloyds TSB Commercial’s specialist property team for the £900,000 development loan to finance the construction of the new building, having been introduced to the bank by his property consultants Lambert Smith Hampton.
 
Mr Senior said: “It’s rewarding to see the realisation of the project which has taken nearly four years to complete – we’ve worked hard with both the planning department and our architect Ian Drabble at Cadenza VM Limited to ensure that the building complemented the surrounding street, and we’re really pleased with the result.
 
“The area of Sheffield around Ecclesall Road has become a very popular place for young families and university students to live, which has increased the demand for places to eat outside of the city centre, and created a vibrant mix of shops and restaurants along the road.”
 
Ken Davies, relationship director for Lloyds TSB Commercial, said: “The new development is a huge improvement to this part of the high street, and one which is also adding real value to the local area through the creation of new jobs.”