The plans for a site on Hoyle Street have been designed to also feature an iconic grade II listed cementation furnace for steel making, the only one of its kind to survive undamaged in Britain.

The building complex rising to 12 floors will include 247 build-to-rent flats and 658 student beds, comprising studios, cluster flats and townhouses, which also benefit from dedicated, private open space.

It is expected to cost around £70m to build

The proposals mark further progress for Mace’s extensive student development portfolio which, together with Sheffield, will see the  contractor deliver more than 2,000 student beds in the next three years including consented sites in Cardiff, Exeter and Oxford.

David Grover, Mace’s chief operating officer for development, said: “We have worked hard to design a scheme which places Sheffield’s industrial heritage at the heart of our proposals. As well as bringing forward modern student housing and new homes for Sheffield, the designs are sympathetic to the local area and will give the iconic cementation furnace a new lease of life as the centre piece of the site.”

The furnace was built in 1848 when Daniel Doncaster and Sons began using it to produce steel through the cementation process.

It has been designed by Jefferson Sheard Architects, working out of their Sheffield office, and CBRE has advised Mace on planning.

The site is close to the University of Sheffield main campus, in walking distance to the City Centre and has the amenities of Kelham Island on its doorstep.