Permission secured for landmark HQ office property

Scarborough Group International (SGI) has secured consent from Leeds City Council to build a 133,118 sq ft HQ office building at Thorpe Park Leeds.

The approval comes as the developer announces plans for the next significant stage of development at the out of town destination, having committed to deliver over 195,000 sq ft of new business accommodation, which has potential to support over 3,000 jobs within the next two years, and a total Gross Development Value of more than £71m.

Scarborough has appointed GMI Construction to build two Grade A office buildings situated around the new Green Park area and adjacent to The Springs retail and leisure park.  Both buildings are under negotiation with occupiers.

A further new 60,000 sq ft office building, for which consent was secured earlier this year, will be built to overlook Central Park.  Both are to be located close to the planned Thorpe Park Leeds railway station.

Adam Varley, head of commercial assets at Scarborough Group International, said: “We are excited to be making progress with our plans at Thorpe Park Leeds which will transform the location and act as a catalyst to create the largest and most attractive out of town mixed use community in the region.

“With over £100m already invested, through our joint venture partners Legal & General Capital, into new infrastructure and the exemplary ‘The Springs Leeds’ retail and leisure destination, together with confirmation of a dedicated new railway station on site, the building blocks are in place for the evolution of what was regarded as an office destination into a brand new mixed use community.”

The travel strategy at Thorpe Park Leeds will be to centralise car parking into multi-storey transport hubs and incorporate extensive facilities to support more sustainable travel, including electric vehicle car charging stations and cycle hubs.

Further investment will also be made into the surrounding landscape, as Redrow continues to advance with the development of its new luxury homes at the park.

Mark Jackson, development director at Scarborough Group International, said: “Thorpe Park Leeds is a flagship project for the Northern Powerhouse and our commitment to invest further, even in these uncertain economic times, shows our faith in the strength of the city of Leeds, Yorkshire, and the North.

“As a company our mantra for 2020 has been ‘Keep on Building’, and we remain committed to our other Northern Powerhouse projects, especially our major schemes in Sheffield and Manchester.”

Thorpe Park Leeds is already a well-established business location. More than 800,000 sq ft of office space has been built so far, supporting over 5,500 jobs.

The Springs retail and leisure park sits at the core of the park, with a line-up of major businesses including Next, M&S, ODEON Luxe, Pure Gym, Boots, H&M and TK Maxx.

Further development plans include delivery of a 113-acre public park with sports & well-being facilities.

Scarborough is also in the process of master planning uses for the adjacent Brown Moor site.

The phase two development at Thorpe Park Leeds was enabled following a £162m investment deal with Legal & General Capital in 2015.

Since then, 1.35 million sq ft of mixed use expansion has progressed.

It has also enabled delivery of the first section of the ‘East Leeds Orbital Road’ (ELOR), a key piece of transport infrastructure connecting north and east Leeds to Junction 46 of the M1.

This road unlocks land for the future construction of over 7,000 new homes on the East Leeds area.

Appointed agents for the office space at Thorpe Park Leeds are BNP Paribas Real Estate, Cushman and Wakefield and JLL.