A decision over the future of the sports facilities at a former Leeds school has been postponed for another month to give planners more time to examine the proposals.
As reported in the YEP, developers want to build 25 homes, eight flats and a supermarket on the site of the sports hall, swimming pool and playing fields at Leeds Girls High School in Headingley.
The scheme, submitted by Chartford Homes and Holbeck Land, was due to go before Leeds City Council’s plans panel on Thursday, but the hearing has now been postponed until November 8.
Campaigners from action group Hyde Park Olympic Legacy (HPOL) say they will use the extra time to continue gathering evidence as to why the scheme should be rejected.
They want the facilities to be made available for local schools and members of the community in a bid to create future Olympic heroes and tackle the obesity crisis.
The group also claims to have evidence of the facilities being used by members of the public in the past, which they say strengthens their case.
Sue Buckle, from HPOL, said: “The delay is good in that it gives us more time to gather the evidence we know is there.
“We’ve got statements from women who used to go to swimming sessions at the school and we’re still gathering support.
“Word spreads quite slowly so it’s good to have more time.”
A decision over the controversial scheme has already been postponed once, with the plans originally meant to be considered in September.
Coun Neil Walshaw (Lab, Headingley) said he was “cautiously optimistic” that the scheme would be rejected by the plans panel next month.
He said: “Evidence has been put forward that needs to be looked at and the officers have decided to take their time.
“When an action group comes forward with a lot of information, generally that tends to push things back.”
The developers say all avenues to convert the buildings into public sports facilities had been exhausted prior to their interest in the site, which became vacant when the girls’ school merged with The Grammar School at Leeds in 2008.
Plans for 94 new homes on the main school site on Headingley Lane were approved by the council in August.
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