Consent given to redevelop church site to create 175 apartments
Planning permission has been granted to redevelop St Mary’s Church in Richmond Hill, Leeds, into a residential development.
The scheme has been designed by Leeds based Brewster Bye Architects on behalf of developers, Estate Aid Ltd and MSM (Leeds) Ltd.
St Mary’s Church, a Grade II* listed building, opened in 1851 but has been empty for more than 30 years.
Leeds City Council’s North and East Plans Panel has now approved the planning application, which will see the church transformed into 175 one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
Plans were produced in consultation with Historic England, Civic Trust and Leeds City Council’s conservation department.
The development site will now be marketed for sale for offers over £2.85m by Linley & Simpson.
Jeremy Sokel, from Estate Aid, said: “We are confident that a buyer will take this exciting scheme forward now that planning has been secured. The design is simply stunning and the location extremely attractive.”
The nave and aisles of the church will be removed to make way for a new extension and the chancel, transept areas and altars will be retained and restored.
The church, and its proposed extension, will contain 62 apartments and the existing presbytery will be demolished and replaced with a five-storey building consisting of 113 apartments. There will also be 152 cycle and 56 car parking spaces.
Once complete, the scheme will connect to Leeds city centre, linking the Saxton Gardens development and more recent residential schemes on Marsh Lane and Richmond Hill.
Mark Henderson, director at Brewster Bye, said: “Securing planning permission for this scheme is fantastic news for both East Leeds as a whole and St Mary’s Church.
“It is a beautiful and historic building, but over the last 30 years it had become an ugly symbol of degeneration in this part of the city, with parts of the structure held up by scaffolding.
“Our proposals retain all the most important elements of the original church building and the sympathetic, yet striking extension help to make the development viable.”
Jonathan Morgan, from Linley & Simpson, said: “This part new-build, part refurbishment development project is close to the award-winning Climate Innovation District by Citu, and the highly successful Saxton residential scheme, by Urban Splash.
“Its elevated position, one mile to the east of Leeds Railway Station, and innovative design will make it a truly remarkable and attractive place to live.”
