Sheffield City Council has unveiled ambitions for a major mixed-use development masterplanned by Leonard Design Architects.

The proposed £480m scheme is intended to regenerate Sheffield city centre through 900,000sq ft of leisure and retail, with a small portion allocated for residential and office space.

Leonard Design Architects, who have advised on several large European retail developments including Westfield shopping malls in London and Milan, aim to blend Sheffield’s historical assets – including City Hall, The Crucible and The Lyceum theatres – with a vibrant new leisure and retail quarter through “top quality landscaping.”

A Sheffield City Council spokesperson told Leisure Opportunities that details of the leisure proposition remain scarce at this stage, but said more information would be released when the council starts its public consultation in May.

Sheffield City Council is currently talking to potential strategic development partners to help deliver the new scheme by 2019 and expects to announce a partner in Q3 2015.

”These are exciting plans that will help Sheffield meet the changing retail demands of the 21st century – a development that will be crucial to the city’s economic future,” Sheffield City Council executive director Simon Green.

“The design merges with Sheffield’s award winning public spaces and world renowned cultural assets – including City Hall, The Crucible and The Lyceum theatres – and links key retail pitches in the city centre from The Moor through to Fargate.”