Homes proposal for Leeds church

The site at 32 York Road is Leeds City Council’s former library service HQ, which was converted to a medical clinic in 2006 and then Hope City Church in 2008, according to planning papers.

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Hope City Church – a glass-walled 45,000sq ft building named the “Megacentre” – has been operating its Christian services in Richmond Hill since then. Previously it ran at the Leeds Hilton Hotel.

Lead pastor Chris Denham said: “Completion on the sale will be finalised shortly and then we have an agreement to remain in the property for a period of time until we can secure a new venue which we are currently in negotiations with.”

He added: “Currently our services are at capacity every Sunday having grown steadily over the last 12 years we’ve been in Leeds. So a new building will give us more space to continue that growth. We are hoping that the closure of the Megacentre will coincide with the opening of our new building so that services will not be disrupted.”

If approved by Leeds City Council, the 52 homes planned are to comprise a mix of one- and two-bed apartments and 200 sqm of retail space.

Proposals by developer Leeds City Apartments Ltd, published this week, reveal ideas for the homes, a retail unit and car parking. A statement by the developer reads that the site is “entirely appropriate for housing and a small retail unit”.

It adds: “The proposal will have no adverse impact on the highway network, and will provide sufficient car parking to serve the development. There are no economic or environmental reasons to prohibit development.”

The proposals “should be approved without delay,” the planning statement reads.