Burton's Leeds: Scheme for 'world's largest clothing factory' to include 500 homes and men's fashion archive

Developer Avant Homes has unveiled plans to redevelop the former Burton Manufacturing site on Hudson Road in Burmantofts into approximately 500 townhouses and apartments, along with 3.5 hectares for commercial use and public green space.

Purchased by Avant Homes in 2022, the site, now known as Arcadia, currently houses various commercial tenants occupying about 20 per cent of the buildings.

While a formal planning application is pending, Avant Homes has held a meeting with Leeds Civic Trust to discuss preserving key architectural and historical elements during redevelopment.

Martin Hamilton, director at the Trust, told the Yorkshire Evening Post that although detailed drawings are still in progress, he is pleased with the plans so far. He said: "The frontage [on Hudson Road] is what people are familiar with and have seen photographs of, but the rest of the site is warehouse and factory-type buildings behind fence and walls.

"We want to see as much of the Hudson Road frontage retained as possible, along with another building on the other end of the site with a similar tile signage. You can't preserve everything as it was 100 years ago but we need to make sure that the spirit of the place lives on."

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In addition to the proposed housing, there is hope for the development to house a complete factory archive. Currently, part of the Burton archive is stored in a building just off the proposed site, with other parts housed in museums and collections around West Yorkshire.

Mr Hamilton noted that while Avant Homes has yet to make a firm commitment to the archives, he understands a central archive could be retained within one of the older buildings set to remain on the site.

Founded by Lithuanian Jewish immigrant Montague Burton in 1921, Burton’s clothing factory once employed 10,000 workers. At one point, it was the largest clothing factory in the world, producing 30,000 suits per week. After the Second World War, Burton supplied “demob” suits to the government for servicemen transitioning back to civilian life.

Production ceased in 1981, and in 1998, the Burton Group was rebranded the Arcadia Group, which still lends its name to the site.

Residents and stakeholders from Harehills and Burmantofts are invited to share feedback on the proposed plans through Avant Homes' community consultation, open until Friday, November 15.

The developer is expected to submit a full planning application to Leeds City Council in the coming months.