A groundbreaking event took place at the Heart of the Campus site at Collegiate Campus on Wednesday 1 May to mark the start of the construction of the £27million teaching and learning facility which will mainly be used by students and staff from the University’s faculties of Development and Society, and Health and Wellbeing. The development will also include space for the students union, enabling them to better support students on both campuses.
Representatives from the Estates Development and Sustainability team, Sheffield Hallam Students’ Union, the faculty of Health and Wellbeing and the construction contractors GRAHAM Construction were present at the event along with local archivist Jim Ford who is working with the Project Managers to create a heritage trail in the Heart of the Campus.
Jim said: “Collegiate Crescent was one of the first private estates in Sheffield, and was built quite early – in the 1840s – and existed until houses on Victoria Rd were developed in 1854. But between the wars the character of the area changed, and it became less private.
“This area was also the second conservation area established in Sheffield, in 1967, and now there are over 40 conservation areas. On this particular site at the University there are some superb houses. Luckily, most of them have been preserved.”
A press release and photos from the event are available to view from the University’s media centre: http://www.shu.ac.uk/mediacentre/breaking-new-ground-historic-site