Thorpe Park retail plans to be decided this week
THE decision on the retail element of the £400m Thorpe Park development will be decided on Thursday.
Last week, councillors resolved to grant outline consent to the £400m expansion of Thorpe Park in east Leeds, but deferred their decision on the retail element of the business park extension to concerns from city centre businesses including Hammerson, according to Property Week.
Responding to last minute objections from companies involved in the city centre, the councillors of the planning committee deferred final judgment on the detail of the retail planning condition to be attached to the planning consent until their next meeting on Thursday. The final details of the public transport strategy will also be considered at this meeting.
Nearly 600,000 sq ft of business space has been built at Thorpe Park and the expansion will add up to 1.1 million sq ft of office space; a 97,000 sq ft food store; 97,000 sq ft of non-food retail; up to 175,000 sq ft of leisure space, including a hotel and sports facilities; and 45,000 sq ft of cafes, bars and restaurants. The end value of the additional space is expected to be in excess of £400m.
Hammerson is concerned that the retail will have a detrimental impact on city centre schemes such as its Victoria Gate plans in the city centre, where anchor tenant John Lewis has also expressed concerns previously.
The scheme also features 30 acres of parkland and green space, which will run through the scheme to link with Green Park, the new 113-acre public park to the west, which is being brought forward by SDG in conjunction with Leeds City Council.
Consent was also granted for the Manston Lane Link Road, a key piece of road infrastructure linking the north east Leeds area, and the ‘East Leeds Extension’ housing allocation, to the M1. This will have a transformational effect upon the traffic management in the area and assist the delivery of up to 6,000 houses.
