Brunswick Place in doubt as developer pulls out

THE PREFERRED developer of a £275m Yorkshire regeneration scheme has pulled out of the project – leaving the future of the site uncertain.

Brunswick Place was set to revitalise a 1m sq ft area of Leeds city centre with plans being drawn up to build a 30-storey residential tower, more than 600,000 sq ft of office space and around 70,000 sq ft of retail space.

However, Castlemore Properties, the property developer and investor which was also to acquire the land at the 5.5 acre site, has dropped out as developer of the scheme and has decided not to proceed with the land purchase.

Castlemore was scheduled to develop Brunswick Place through its regeneration arm, Spring, but it is understood the company has pulled out because of current market conditions.

The site, which is located near the Merrion shopping centre off Clay Pit Lane and is owned jointy by Leeds City Council and Leeds Metropolitan University, consists of an unused university building and a car park.

A Leeds City Council spokesman said: “The council was involved in the joint sale with Leeds Metropolitan University. The university owns the Brunswick building and the council owns the adjoining car park. A sale was agreed with Castlemore Securities, but it withdrew from the transaction earlier this year.

“The council and the university are considering their future options.”

The site would also have been used to create a cultural quarter – dubbed ‘The Eye’ – to the north of the city centre.

Is the collapse of Brunswick Place a further sign that the credit crunch is here to stay? Is the news the start of worse to come for the Yorkshire property market? Let us know your thoughts below.