Decision on plans for 800 private rental flats on derelict site to be made today

The application for the large, concreted site on the corner of Whitehall Road and Globe Road includes eight buildings, between eight and 23 storeys in height, while nearly half of the site would be publicly-accessible open space.

In total, the plans will comprise 783 flats, as well as commercial units.

More than half of the apartments would include balconies, while 12 would even include “private garden spaces”.

According to the plans, however, none of the flats would be available to buy, and would all be private rents.

The report from Leeds City Council officers listed the overall value of the development at £177.5m.

Developer Get Living currently manages part of the former London Olympics athlete village in Stratford, East London – now known as East Village.

These plans follow previous attempts to revive the site in 2005 and 2013, when full permission was granted to build similarly large residential developments, but the time limit has since expired on both.

Leeds City Council planning officers will be hoping it could be third time lucky, and suggest in a report that the plans be approved in principle by councillors, subject to conditions.

Such conditions include contributions from developer Get Living Group (Leeds) towards road and public transport improvements.

The report said: “This is a highly sustainable, City Centre location and consists of under-utilised, brownfield land.

“The site benefits from a number of previous approvals for multi-level residential neighbourhood development, but which have not come forward to date.

“This scheme is a significant regeneration opportunity which would make a large contribution to housing supply and provide employment opportunities.

“The proposal would create a sustainable community with the ability to live, work, and enjoy leisure time all in one place. This would occur in a fully accessible, high quality and attractive environment and in buildings which have been designed to be energy efficient, with sustainable transport modes fully accommodated.

“A high standard of amenity would exist for the residents and a wider section of the community can be accommodated through the inclusion of on-site affordable housing. In addition, the applicant is providing land, making a contribution to and carrying out works to the public highway that will give rise to a more accessible and safer vehicle environment.”

The plans will be discussed by Leeds City Council’s City Plans Panel today at 1.30pm.