Lidl – Moor Allerton
Planning reference no: 26/02540/FU
Lidl has set its sights on Moor Allerton, with plans to build a supermarket at the Moor Allerton Centre in North Leeds. The project would see the demolition of existing buildings on the site which are currently occupied by Argos, Anytime Fitness, Subway, Costa Coffee, Holly House Vets and Wex Photos. Moor Allerton Community Hub would remain, with external alterations being made to the building and landscaping and seating being provided in a space by its front.
Though our planning committee weren’t opposed to the addition of a supermarket in the area, there were concerns around pedestrian access to and around the site. The plans showed little consideration of the space needed to allow people to comfortably walk around the site; for instance, it outlined narrow pavement space around the trolley bay, narrow walkways from the entrance and near the parent/child parking, tight and limited access to the bus stop and no raised areas for pedestrian routes across the car park. The plans also showed no details about an existing footbridge which provides access to the site from over the ring road or information about eastern access from Kings Lane.
The committee decided to submit an objection noting these issues and suggested amendments to the car parking or location of the building to improve pedestrian flow.
The Former Co-operative Funeralcare Building – Marsh Lane
Planning reference no: 26/03033/FU
Plans to demolish the vacant co-op building on Marsh Lane were also reviewed by the committee this month. Under the plans, the building is set to be flattened to make way for two 10 & 11 storey residential buildings. Overall, 205 apartments will be provided, with 113 one-bed units, 82 two-bed units and 10 three-bed units. The site will also include a central courtyard, gym, games room, co-working space, lounge and a roof top terrace.
Oakapple group – who submitted the application – kindly attended a planning committee meeting back in April outing their plans for the site. In response to this meeting, the committee provided a letter of response reflecting their thoughts on the scheme. The main point of concern centred on the layout and lack of natural light on the site.
It was noted that units (particularly the accessible units on the ground floor) would receive poor natural light and also be in close proximity to the service, delivery and operational activity for the building; the corridors, despite meeting the technical standards, would also receive limited sun light. Similarly, the committee suggested that the ground floor layout be rearranged so that the facilities (i.e. gym, games room, co-working space) which are non-daylight dependent, be repositioned to the back of the building and the ground floor units be at the front to ensure exposure to daylight. This would also provide an active frontage on Brussels Street.
The plans were revised post our discussion with Oakapple, with some windows on the ground floor units being replaced with glazed doors. However, when reviewing the full submitted application, the committee felt an objection was necessary as the plans still raised concerns around daylight and a poor ground floor layout.
Roundhay Park – Bollards
Planning reference: 26/02714/FU
This month the planning committee reviewed an application for Roundhay Park. The proposed plans are to install stone boulders, bollards, vehicle barriers and create earth boundaries which will be dotted along the perimeters of Soldiers field and Connaught field. In recent years, there has been a growing number of vehicles accessing the fields, as well as encampments on the site. Whilst the committee felt saddened that the plans would require council expenditure (when there are many other areas where money needs to be spent), they felt the installation of the barriers were necessary to minimise damage to the park, the costs that the damage incurs and to ensure that all can continue to enjoy the park.
Presentation – Former Yorkshire Evening Post Site
We were very kindly provided an update for the plans for the former Yorkshire Evening Post site at a planning meeting this month. The former building was built in the late 60s and was officially opened in September of 1970 with Prince Charles in attendance. The building was left vacant in 2012 and ultimately demolished in 2014.
The previous scheme for the site was for two student accommodation blocks and one build-to-rent block. The new plan is to create two office blocks, with the left over plot to be progressed by another applicant. Building A will be 15 storeys and building B 17 storeys; these will be a designed as a pair of related buildings but also have their own individual styles. A restaurant and bar are planned for the first floor of building B, car parking will be at basement level, and landscaping will be enhanced around the site.
Terracotta is the preferred colour for the exterior of the buildings, with two façade ideas being explored: horizontal bands inspired by layered newspapers or a ‘magnified’ print design that refers to newspaper print techniques. The Yorkshire Evening Post clock and temperature gauge still remains on the site, and proposals are still being developed to address the existing planning expectations around its use. There may be a contemporary re-interpretation of the clock such as using the façade dots to create a large digital clock at the side of the building that faces the ring road.
Overall, the committee were pleased with the plans – particularly with the shift away from student accommodation. In their letter of response however, they did note some considerations for the developers, including opening up routes from the site to wellington street and the riverside and repositioning the ground floor units so that they do not face out onto the busy road junction.
Many thanks to DLA Architecture, QUOD, and Prescient Capital for attending.
Transport
An update on bus franchising was on the agenda for our Transport & Liveable Leeds groups this month with the Director for Franchising at WYCA, Paul Matthews, kindly taking the time to speak to us. Paul had previously worked in the bus industry for 45 years and was the Managing Director for First Bus Wet Yorkshire until 2023; he joined WYCA in 2025.
Some things we learnt:
- The franchising process is in full swing, with round 1 to bring franchised services to Huddersfield, Kirklees, Dewsbury, and North/West Leeds in May 2027; round 2 will target other parts of Leeds (Hunslet, South + East Leeds) and parts of Wakefield in January 2028; and round 3 will cover all remaining areas including Calderdale, Bradford, and Keighley by October 2028.
- Paul emphasised that passengers should not see any deterioration at the launch of franchising and that over time should experience improvements; early improvements are expected to come from new vehicles, stronger performance management and an integrated control centre.
- Future ambitions (E.g. night buses, rural service improvements, higher frequencies and wider network redesign) are likely to come later once the franchising baseline is established
Thanks for reading!
