Leeds City Council planning chiefs will meet next week to discuss plans for a huge five-block flats complex near Chapeltown.
Builders Option Two Development and Domus have submitted plans to Leeds City Council for five multi storey apartment blocks on the site of the Hilltop Works in Buslingthorpe Lane.
The site would add up to 371 flats overall, along with community facilities, a children’s play area and public and private open spaces.
Get more news from Chapeltown here
Plans for the site had originally gone before planning chiefs in 2019, but had included 449 residential units. This has since been revised down.
According to a report from Leeds City Council officers, block A and block B on the site will rise to 10 storeys. Blocks C and D, to the south of the site will rise to eight storeys, while block E, on the west of the site, will rise to seven.
The report also states the site would contain 29 affordable homes – less than eight per cent of the entire site. The developers also propose the site to be mainly made of up one and two-bed flats, with just 41 containing three bedrooms. This would make up just 11 per cent of the scheme, whereas Leeds City Council’s own planning rules say housing schemes like this should include a minimum 20 per cent three-bed properties.
The Leeds City Council report states: “This policy requirement has not been satisfied and there is an under-provision of three bedroomed properties. This should be justified by the submission of appropriate evidence and a housing needs assessment.”
The Leeds Civic Trust criticised the plans, stating: “The proportion of three-bed units for families was considered too low for a more mixed use which would be appropriate for this edge of city centre site.”
Search for houses for sale or rent near you
It was also pointed out by the trust that the site is of historic significance to the city’s industrial past, adding: “The committee considered that, with the site falling within a conservation area, the demolition of all buildings on the site, including the chimney, was not preserving or enhancing the character of the area.”
The Leeds City Council report concluded: “There has been a significant alteration to the scheme since it was initially submitted in 2019.
“Officers have negotiated with the developers in order to reduce the scale of the development, to minimise its impact on the city scape, to limit the adverse impact on the historic assets identified within the Conservation Area, and to maximise the provision of improvements to the surrounding environment.
“However, there are still concerns regarding the scale, bulk and massing of the development and therefore members views are critical to the scheme going forward.”
As the item is a position statement, no decision will be made by councillors, who will instead advise planning officers on how to proceed with the plans.
To get the latest email updates from LeedsLive, click here.
