Plans for former chemicals site move forward
A MAJOR mixed-use scheme which will create 1,300 jobs and aims to introduce city centre living to families has taken a major step forward.
Outline planning permission has been granted for the redevelopment of the former Yorkshire Chemicals site in Hunslet Road, Leeds.
The scheme, known as ‘The Works’, will see 942,000 sq ft developed and is predicted to have an end-value of around £230m.
The site is located between the mixed-use schemes at Brewery Wharf and Clarence Dock in Leeds city centre.
Leeds City Council has granted outline planning permission for the regeneration of the brownfield site to Reland, the commercial and mixed-use division of Gladedale Group.
The proposals for The Works includes:
– 707 homes, including family homes with private outdoor space in addition to a broad range of apartments,
– 267,000 sq ft of employment space,
– 18,850 sq ft of facilities for the residential and business community including healthcare, childcare and retail space,
– 74,000 sq ft of leisure and other uses including bars, restaurants and cafes, a hotel and a car showroom.
Reland is aiming to create a sustainable community in which people can live and work in a city centre environment.
Office and business space will be available to both SMEs and larger companies both to purchase and rent.
Paul Oxtoby, development director at Reland, said: “We are very pleased by the positive response to our proposals. This site has tremendous potential to deliver something different, forward-thinking and above all viable and sustainable over the long term.”
Mark Jackson, managing director at Reland, said: “We set out to create a plan for a well-balanced living and working community that will make a large and positive contribution to the city.
“So we are very pleased that the Council have recognised our genuine aims and granted ‘The Works’ a planning consent. I would like to thank Leeds City Council for working with us to bring forward this groundbreaking scheme.”
The scheme has been designed by Leeds-based architecture firm Carey Jones.
Simon Smithson, director at Carey Jones, said: “Working alongside forward thinking developers Reland has allowed us to create proposals making The Works scheme the first of its kind for Leeds city centre.
“The design ethos on the whole follows a more European style of city living with the residential element comprising a mix of apartments and townhouses with their own front door and private courtyards with a focus on sustainability throughout the development.”
The agents acting for Reland in Leeds are Knight Frank, Atisreal and Shield Estates.
Charles Calvert, partner with Knight Frank in Leeds, said: “The proposed development represents a significant opportunity to deliver a forward-thinking, diverse and sustainable scheme to demonstrate Leeds’ continuing progress and development.
“The proposed scheme represents a ‘true mixed use’ urban regeneration scheme which will provide for a far broader section of the community within a much enhanced environment than has been the case with many developments in the city to date.”
Reland has also submitted a planning application for sister scheme ‘Bankside’, also a former Yorkshire Chemicals site in Leeds.
The 12-acre site at Kirkstall Road is adjacent to the River Aire and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.
