Leeds M1 masterplan reaches final crucial stages

A masterplan to transform huge swathes of developable land in Leeds - which has been in development for more than a decade - has reached its crucial final stages.

The Aire Valley Leeds Area Action Plan (AVLAAP) will provide the planning framework for the regeneration of 400 hectares of land, and will be vital in laying down rules on the type and amount of new development which will be built in key parts of the city in the coming decades.

It has now been revealed that after years of development, consultation and other preparatory work - which started back in 2005 - the document is finally ready to be submitted to an independent inspector before it is adopted by civic leaders.

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The Aire Valley area extends from Leeds City Centre south east to the M1 and beyond. It includes the Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone and the South Bank of the city centre. Key sites covered by the plan include the landmark former Tetley Brewery site in Leeds.

A report being presented to a cross-party City Development panel next week says: “This is a key strategic location for Leeds and the City Region as a whole.”

It adds the document has gone through three separate rounds of public consultation and “is now at an advanced stage”.

“Following a substantial period of plan preparation, sustainability appraisal and public consultation...the City Council can now proceed to submit the AVL AAP for independent examination prior to adoption.”

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The AVLAAP document is one of three emerging masterplans which will be key to the future look and shape of the city.

The plan overlaps slightly with the council’s South Bank vision, which will see the authority work alongside other public bodies, the private and third sectors to bring forward a mix of uses in one of Europe’s largest urban regeneration schemes. It includes the proposed HS2 station and Holbeck Urban Village.

Together with the East Leeds Extension and enterprise zone schemes, the plans are helping complete the jigsaw of the city’s future housing and economic development ambitions.

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