Leeds residents will be able to add or remove rooms in new homes on Tetley site

Leeds City Council is set to be presented with a planning application, from real estate developer Vastint Leeds B.V, seeking outline permission for 17 acres of the 23-acre site.

It is currently being used as a temporary car park and green space, training facility for Asda and an art hub at The Tetley building.

Since the closure of the world-famous brewery in 2011, the area has been ear-marked as a vital part in the regeneration of the city’s South Bank.

It is expected, however, that giving the go-ahead for the creation of a new community is going to be deferred and delegated to the chief planning officer at next Thursday’s City Plans Panel at Leeds Civic Hall.

The finer details of the scheme will have to be presented in full to the city planners at a later date but so far it is known that there will be 85 studio units, 230 one bedroom units, 365 two bedroomed and 170, three bedroomed units.

And in a topical move, given current debate in the city about whether high rises and apartments are actually meeting the needs of city workers and millennials, Vastint will be taking a different approach for the changing needs of house-holds.

The report says: “Vastint would like to introduce an innovative way of residents being able to expand and contract the number of rooms within their flat or house without moving, so that residents can adapt their living spaces to meet their changing circumstances.

“12 per cent of the two and three-bedroom units would be flexible, designed to the minimum standard for the larger unit size, but capable of having walls removed to allow for different functions of living space.

“This is considered to be an interesting concept that could help to make the city centre a place for families of all ages to move to and stay throughout their lives.”

Some of the buildings that have remained on the site will be demolished, notably the five storey modern office building known as Tetley House (formerly Huntsman House), the former gatehouse adjacent to The Tetley and the single storey warehouse building and all existing boundary walls on a phased basis.

Council officers have said that the proposals, that have been amended following pre application discussions last year to factor in the height of buildings in relation to Leeds Minster and wind dynamics, are “a significant regeneration opportunity”.

It is expected that the outline permission will be granted subject to section 106 agreements and compensations by Vastint which include a new pedestrian crossing on Crown Point Road between Bowman Lane and Sheaf Street costing £70,000, a City Connect cycle scheme contribution of £364,000 and Sovereign footbridge contribution of £500,000. A payments is to be made to the Sustainable travel fund of £162,488.75, the Car club contribution for £69,350 and a travel plan monitoring fee of £20,000.

There will also be a parking strategy and public access through the site.