Leeds Civic Trust’s Planning and Transport Officer, Alanah Coulson, on May’s developments.
May was a month of ‘no comments’ on a series applications to re-occupy vacant buildings in the city centre:
68 – 78 Vicar Lane
What was once the original home of Flannels, 68-70 Vicar Lane is now set to be occupied by Dishoom, an acclaimed Indian restaurant group. As the building is listed, our planning committee carefully reviewed the applications that came through. We were happy to see that the plans were in line with listed building requirements and felt a no comment was applicable.
12 Duncan Street
Originally occupied by Ascend Estate agents, we assessed an application for this vacant site which is proposing to change the space into a hot food takeaway. The planning committee wasn’t very enamoured with the application, feeling it was not in keeping with the historic buildings surrounding it, but ultimately a no comment was agreed.
13-14 Kirkgate
A Tesco store is proposed for this site after being left vacant by Superdrug (they’ve now moved to a much larger site on Briggate). The planning committee agreed the plans would be an enhancement, especially given that the proposed plans would remove the need for roller shutters. Once again – a no comment was agreed.
Fun fact: The building used to be the site of the Golden Cock Pub – you can still spot a small statue of a golden cock at the top of the building today.
We also looked at interesting applications outside of the City Centre:
St Mary’s Menston
The Wharfedale area is set for another new school development, as an application has been put through for St Mary’s Catholic School. The old school buildings will be demolished and new ones erected, following on from similar developments at Guiseley School & Benton Park. The Planning Committee appreciated the plans and submitted a letter of support.
Elm Tree Farm
An application also came through for Elm Tree Farm, located in Ledston. The plans are to demolish the existing agricultural buildings and convert and extend the existing farmhouse buildings. We were glad that the removal of the low-quality agricultural buildings would potentially emphasize the older farmhouse site; a letter of support was written.
We recieved one presentation at planning committee and conducted a site visit:
The Dyecoats Development, Kirkstall Road
During our first meeting of the month, we were accompanied by Litchfields, a planning & consultancy firm. They delivered a presentation on their revised plans for the Dyecoats scheme on Kirkstall Road. Their amended plans now include more affordable homes, with 505 of the 1,047 apartments set to be affordable – as well as the introduction of a taller building (28 storeys) to help with wayfinding.
The planning committee, during the Q&A, explored the possibility of more balconies being incorporated within the plans, as well as expressing that the site should be well connected to public transit and accommodate potential car use.
Thwaite Mills Visit
Accompanied by my LCT colleagues Amy and Jodie, I visited the Thwaite Mills site this month. Having been closed permanently in April this year, the site has now been put up for sale by the Canals & Rivers Trust. It was great to see the site (for the first time) but sad given its closure. We hope that the site will be in good hands in the future.
May was also a busy month in the world of transport…
‘A Franchised Bus Service for Leeds’
Since news that the bus franchising scheme was set to be rolled out in West Yorkshire, it has been at the heart of much of our discussion during our Transport & Liveable Leeds (T&LL) group meetings. Inspired by a meeting we had with Councillor Peter Carlill in February, we decided to create a document that would express our thoughts on what the scheme should consider.
The document namely focuses on core principles for route design and frequency, such as: considering orbital routes across the city, providing key routes with a 10-minute frequency, and integrating bus timetables with rail (and the proposed tram system). Other factors like infrastructure, accountability, and ticketing are also highlighted in the document.
The document is available to view on our website (click here).
Elland Road Development
Following the news of the Elland Road development, the question of public transport to and from the stadium was raised at our T&LL group. The proposed scheme is set to increase capacity at the stadium from 37, 645 to potentially over 56,000 – but concerns were raised by the group about how the additional 20,000 people will access the grounds and how local residents may be affected.
The Holbeck Viaduct Project was raised as a potential solution. The viaduct hasn’t been used since October 1987, when the last train crossed it. The project is aiming to reclaim the viaduct and transform it into an active travel route, which would span from Leeds’ South Bank to the very north end of Gerald Road, very close to Elland Road. This would be an excellent (and less disruptive) way to see football fans travel between the city centre and the stadium on match days.
We will be meeting with LUFC in the coming weeks ot discuss these issues with them.
