Stinky's Peephouse: Plans lodged to replace Leeds nightclub destroyed by fire with 'landmark' student block

Mornington Limited has lodged a full planning application to demolish an existing building on York Street close to Leeds Bus Station to construct a part nine, part 10 and part 11-storey student accommodation block.

The site is located to the south of York Street to the east of its junction with Brick Street and currently hosts the vacant former nightclub Stinky’s Peephouse, which was destroyed in a fire in August this year.

Plans to demolish the building for a hostel and a café/bar was approved in 2017 and 2019, but never came into fruition. A proposal for student flats on the site was first discussed by developers in March 2023.

The new planning application, which was submitted to Leeds City Council on Friday, August 16, includes detailed drawings of the site and proposes a 10-storey tower with “well articulated and arranged” living spaces for students to “dwell, learn, live and socialise” in what the applicant hopes will be a landmark in the area.

In a design and access statement, the applicant writes: “As part of the proposals the scheme intends to make use of the height of the building to provide an identity to scheme that becomes a landmark development along York Street, careful consideration of material palette has been given to ensure the local character is continued.

“With regards to the scale, the building will provide spectacular views over the city from the high level amenity spaces.”

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According to drawings, the ground floor would feature communal space with a lobby, laundry and cycle storage. On the first to ninth floor, ten different types of studios with at least 20 square metres of living space and views of the city would be located, while the tenth floor would host a gym and more communal space.

The applicant writes: “To maximise efficiency of the site a new, long format studio concept has been developed. This makes maximum use of the site’s depth, which is sufficient to accommodate a single bank of studio apartments and an access corridor, but which is too shallow to accommodate a double bank of rooms to either side of a common corridor.

“The resultant studio depth is therefore much longer than the usual student studio, which is commonly governed by the depth of the ensuite bedrooms which dictate the grid. The narrow studio concept is therefore based on a width of 2.740mm and a length of 7,670mm.

“It uses a 3/4 bed (1200mm wide) docked against the wall, and pushes the kitchen, breakfast bar and seat towards the window - a benefit in terms of fire safety as the bed is between the hob and the door.”

Consultation is scheduled to begin on Friday, September 13, with any comments to be submitted by Friday, September 20, 2024.