Landmark cloth hall plans approved
Ambitious plans to restore one of the oldest buildings in Leeds to its former glory have been approved.
The Grade II listed First White Cloth Hall, a former cloth market which dates from the 18th Century, has fallen into serious disrepair, with the council’s regeneration and conservation teams working with owners and developers for almost a decade to protect and preserve it.
The project by developers Rushbond Group, who acquired the building last year and submitted a planning application with proposed designs for the hall which would see the hall’s west wing restored, a new covered courtyard with atrium built and a new shopfront put in place.
The plans mean that in future, the building could be used for anything from retail, financial and professional services to a café or bar.
The First White Cloth Hall was listed by English Heritage in 1983 following its ‘rediscovery’ as the earliest surviving cloth hall and in recognition of its historic importance to the economic history of the region and the nation.
It is one of the central projects in the Lower Kirkgate Townscape Heritage Initiative, which aims to protect and restore the historic character of a number of other buildings in the Lower Kirkgate area, which is the oldest street in Leeds.
A total of £1.5m was awarded to the project from the Heritage Lottery Fund, matched with £668,000 public funding.
The initiative has already seen 92 Kirkgate, a former 18th Century cloth merchant’s house, transformed into a traditional Yorkshire café, and its neighbour, at 93 Kirkgate, transformed into a café, bar and record shop. Nearby, 90 Kirkgate is the latest completed project, with offices on the first floor.
