Stanley House is a Places for People premises

PROPERTY and management company Places for People is to launch a new Yorkshire operation after agreeing to take space at the £260m Clarence Dock development in Leeds.

Crosby Lend Lease has sold its interest in Stanley House, at Clarence Dock, to Places for People, which has worked on multi-million pound masterplanning projects to urban renewal and new-build developments.

Stanley House comprises 4,145 sq ft of ground floor space suitable for restaurant or bar occupation and 21,575 sq ft of grade A office accommodation over five floors.

Places for People, based in Preston, has helped to establish sustainable communities by building homes for sale and rent alongside homes for reduced and part ownership, as well as commercial units, live/work apartments, homes with care and support and nurseries for pre-school children.

Its Leeds office will be an operational base for around 70 of its staff providing services such as housing management and a regional base for the West Yorkshire area where in total it manages 12,000 homes.

At present Places for People has offices in Leeds and Bradford which will be amalgamated into its new premises at Clarence Dock.

The entire building has been handed over for commercial fit out to start at the beginning of March and Places for People intend to occupy half of the office provision.

Paul Kelly, facilities management director at Places for People, said: “Providing the right environment for our staff is extremely important to us as a company and we conducted a lengthy search of the Leeds and Bradford area before finally deciding on Clarence Dock.

“We wanted a quality investment that offered an attractive location and was easily accessible for our staff. I believe there is nowhere else in Leeds that compares with Clarence Dock.”

When completed later this spring, Clarence Dock will include more than 1,100 waterside apartments, 100,000 sq ft of grade A offices, and 370,000 sq ft of leisure and retail facilities, together with an Express by Holiday Inn hotel, Savills Exhibition Hall and 1,650 space car park.

London Clubs International, a world class casino operator, is currently fitting out its 60,000 sq ft building at the development.

Knight Frank and Sanderson Weatherall acted on behalf of Crosby Lend Lease with Savills acting on behalf of Places for People.