Green light secured for 18-storey student tower

An 18-storey student housing development in Leeds city centre has been given the green light.

QOne Tower will consist of 98 studio flats with communal facilities, including a lounge, reception area, breakfast room and study pods.

The development is set to form a gateway with the existing Arena Village building, marking the north east arrival point into the city.

The existing site has several constraints, and its potential as a viable development site was not immediately apparent to Leeds City Council.

QOne Tower was designed by Box Architects for Q Property Developments and managed on its behalf by YPP Investments.

Box Architects worked with Indigo Planning to explain the potential of the site to stakeholders, including the City Design Officer, Leeds Civic Trust and City Plans Panel for Leeds City Council

In a report for City Plans Panel, Sarah McMahon, principal planning officer at Leeds City Council, said: “The overall design is of a high quality, contemporary, suitability scaled and positioned scheme that would be appropriate for this site and would make a positive aesthetically appropriate contribution to the context of the wider area.”

Construction is due to start this year with completion scheduled for September 2021.

Ken Earl, director of Box Architects, said: “We are naturally delighted at the outcome of the Plans Panel presentation. Our team, led by Toby Harling, has worked incredibly hard to prove the huge potential that we knew the site had. Once completed, this development will provide much needed purpose-built student accommodation serving the main university campuses.”

Omar Al-Nujaifi of YPP, added: “In just nine short years, we have grown a property portfolio that meets the needs of students and young professionals across the north of England. We are delighted to be working once again with Ken, Toby and the rest of the Box Architects team on this project. The development represents a further £15m of investment into Leeds City Centre.”

David Smith, associate director of Indigo Planning, also said: “Box Architects and Indigo Planning have worked closely with Leeds City Council during every step of the planning process. Together, we have designed a tower that will mark a new chapter for the local area with high quality residential and student housing schemes.”