Thanks to Alanah for stepping into my shoes last month, but I’m afraid you are stuck with me again for July.
Our only presentation this month was about plans for the land around the Elland Road stadium of Leeds United FC. You might have seen initial sketches of a refreshed stadium, with new West and North stands giving about 53,000 fans a far better experience than the existing buildings. The stadium will take up more space and the intention is to surround it with extensive public realm improvements suitable for matchday usage. However, that still leaves many hectares of land vacant or in temporary use as park and ride car parking. The aspiration is to create a new residential neighbourhood to the west of the stadium and a mixture of event, entertainment and leisure uses alongside junction 2 of the M621 (picking up the role of the Club’s Centenary Pavilion). A key aspiration will be enhancing links to the city centre, Holbeck and Beeston, with the potential tram route being a major element. A consultation on the scheme is now open and plans can be seen online at Elland Road Neighbourhood, until 25 July 2025.
Turning to planning applications reviewed, this was a rare month during which we did not find it necessary to object to any proposed developments. In fact, we supported the following projects:
- Verity House, Canal Wharf, Holbeck: once the existing office occupiers have moved out to Aire Park, the building is to be extended and converted to a Premier Inn. We welcomed the re-use of an existing building to limit the loss of embedded carbon, but did make suggestions with regard to public realm enhancements.
- Kirkgate Market: we welcomed further enhancements to the
Verity House – a new Premier Inn library and Information Centre within the historic market hall.
- Crawshaw Woods Bridge (over the railway between Thorpe Park and Garforth): this well-presented application is to carefully disassemble the bridge for cleaning/painting before reconstructing it at a higher level to allow overhead electrification cables to pass beneath. It is notable for being the world’s oldest railway-associated iron bridge still in daily use on an operational railway.
- Corn Exchange: conversion of the basement restaurant area to individual shops.
- 11 Park Place: conversion of offices to residential accommodation.
- The Biggin, Bramham: this Listed building has stood empty for many years, with a series of applications for its conversion to apartments being approved but not implemented. We hope this new proposal will be carried out.
Applications upon which we made no comment included:
- Minor changes to the elevations at the redevelopment of Eastmoor School in Adel
- A new commercial teaching swimming pool in Hunslet
- Several farm building conversions and new education use of upper floors of Sovereign House in Park Row.
- An interesting proposal we saw was the installation of residential ‘pods’ on a vacant floor of an office building on Meadow Lane, leaving the centre of the building vacant. Such development has the benefit of permitted rights so there are very limited matters upon which we can object.
Updates on subjects discussed previously include planning consent being granted for the development of Student Accommodation in a tall tower over the Merrion Centre and recladding of Wade House. While objecting to the mass of the tower, we welcomed changes to retain the 1960s appearance of Wade House. Consent was refused for the demolition and replacement of historic Windsor Farm off the A64 in Scholes.
Planning related matters which emerged during our meetings or through our involvement in city projects included the following:
- Skelton Grange: Microsoft has published plans of its proposed data centre on the site of the former power station (MS Skelton). A planning application is expected shortly
- Leeds office market: in discussions, a leading agent has informed us that larger employers in the city centre are taking the opportunity of rental break clauses to downsize the space they occupy and move to the higher quality buildings now needed to attract staff to the office. Older buildings are being repurposed for residential or education use.
- An independent review has determined that the City Council Planning Department is delivering a good service but, as with any such operation, has highlighted some areas for improvement.
- A new Local Plan for Leeds will be out for consultation by the next edition of Outlook. Details will come next month. You can search for ‘Leeds Local Plan’ to find out more in early July.
- Having closed as a museum, Thwaite Mills has been put on the market by the Canal & River Trust. We have written to emphasise the need to ensure that this important part of Leeds’ history is secured for the long term with a viable use which does not preclude public access.
With regard to transport issues, a few points were noted during the month:
- Leeds City Council has launched a new website where you can report issues with transport and highways: Have Your Say Today – Leeds Highways
- While we are hopeful that Rapid Transit will finally come to Leeds in the next few years, funding the project will be an issue. Central Government is likely to require a local contribution and Leeds City Council is considering a Workplace Parking Levy to generate its share, as is the case in Nottingham.
- The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has been working to refresh its statutory Local Transport Plan and, having taken on board comments on issues last year, this will be open for consultation from early July – again, more on this next month.
- WYCA is to hold its next Talking Transport session in Leeds on at 17:15 on15 July 2025 at Leeds City Museum. This is an opportunity to learn about transport plans and discuss issues with officials & operators. Get a free ticket at Talking Transport: Leeds
Next month we already have one presentation lined up and hope to arrange more. But a significant part of our time will be taken up by making a considered response to the drafts of two key plans: the Leeds Local Plan and the WYCA Local Transport Plan. These will be used to guide the development of the city and its subregion over the next 15 years so it is important to ensure they meet the aspirations of the area’s communities. I encourage you to explore and comment on these draft plans when they are published and, if you do so, please drop us a line so that we can gauge the feelings of the Trust’s members.
