Ten developments in Leeds we COULD see over the coming years

Here are a few of my favourites that are yet to be fully rubber-stamped by Leeds City Council planning chiefs, but could soon become part of the landscape.

Martin House Children's Hospice

Early plans to renovate Yorkshire’s oldest children’s hospice were heard by Leeds planning chiefs back in November.

A pre-application to expand Martin House Children’s Hospice in Boston Spa went before members of Leeds City Council’s north and east plans panel, where planned improvements included new accommodation, as well as revamped facilities such as an education suite, hydrotherapy pool and extra space for counselling therapies.

The hospice is expected to submit a full application in the coming months.

LGI rebuild

November was a busy month for big projects in Leeds, and they didn't get much bigger than the planned rebuild of Leeds General Infirmary.

Leeds city councillors approved in principle early plans for a radical revamp of the Leeds General Infirmary site, which would include new children’s and adults’ hospitals.

A council report claimed the new facilities would provide 92,000 square metres of “focused healthcare space” in a building of “up to 15 storeys”.

The panel approved recommendations to defer and delegate the outline planning permission to officers. More detailed plans for individual buildings on the site are expected to come forward in the coming months.

St James's Hospital Pathology

Speaking of hospitals, early plans were recently revealed for a brand new facility in Burmantofts which would bring together pathology services at Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s University Hospital.

Although full plans for the unit are yet to be submitted to Leeds City Council for permission, a “pre-application” meeting took place recently to invite comments from planning chiefs on the applicants’ early concepts.

The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust wants to demolish “a small grouping of low level 20th century buildings” in the north-east corner of the hospital site to make way for the new facility.

A report by council officers said: "The demolitions would create cleared, brownfield land that can be redeveloped to allow for the creation of a new purpose built two-storey building, plus a basement, of approximately 5,392 square metres."

White Rose station

Plans to create a new railway station at the White Rose Centre moved a step forward in November after regional decision-makers agreed to pump a further £2.6m into the scheme.

The proposed station, which has been talked about for years, would sit on the Leeds-Huddersfield line between Cottingley and Morley and is expected to eventually cost almost £22m.

A West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) meeting agreed to move the scheme on to create a full business case, with a public consultation on the plans set to take place during 2020.

Holbeck 24-storey block

It's become clear that Leeds City Council is keen to make the "south bank" area its number one priority when it comes to renovation, and this could be the latest piece in the puzzle.

Early plans to build two apartment blocks at Springwell Road, Holbeck, were shown to Leeds City Council planning chiefs last month.

The main proposal - a 24 storey building - would include 288 apartments, commercial space, car parking and a communal terrace. This would be in addition to an adjacent, already approved block of 224 flats.

A full application is expected in the coming months.

New park in city centre

Early detailed plans for part of the former Tetleys Brewery Wharf site, which would include a brand new city centre park, went before planning chiefs back in the summer.

It followed a meeting in December 2018 when the 16-acre Brewery Site development, set to include office blocks, 850 homes, hotel facilities with around 400 rooms and a five-acre urban park, was granted outline planning permission.

This is an early version of more detailed blueprints expected to be submitted for full approval later this year.

Second Leeds city centre station?

Almost certainly not something that will be built next year, but it's sure exciting to think about.

Back in October, a Leeds City Council plans panel agreed to draft a letter to regional transport chiefs asking them to discuss the possibility of a station near Marsh Lane in the future.

It follows calls from some Leeds councillors, led by Coun Elizabeth Nash, to open a replacement for Marsh Lane Rail Station near York Road - their reasoning being that the city centre has moved eastwards and can no longer be supported by just one station.

The old Marsh Lane Railway Station was first built in 1840, before being closed in 1850 to accommodate new railway construction. It was then redeveloped and reopened as a goods station in 1863.

In 1869, a new link rail line to the Leeds New Station was built, and a passenger station was added to the site. Marsh Lane was closed in 1958.

260 homes on Kirkstall supermarket site

This site in Kirkstall Hill is subject to an application to demolish existing buildings and replace them with 263 apartments and town houses. The largest building on the site is a former supermarket, currently occupied by Harvard Mills.

A pre-application detailed plans for 183 apartments, ranging from one to two bed; and 80 town houses, ranging from two to four beds. Developers also promise cycle storage, cycle parking and electric vehicle charging points.

A full application is expected to be submitted in the coming months.

MORE towers on the former Yorkshire Evening Post site

Two applications are expected to be submitted in the new year to renovate part of the former Yorkshire Evening Post site in Wellington Street, one being for two residential blocks and another for a hotel building.

A document produced by Leeds City Council officers suggested the first application would be for two “broadly rectangular buildings”, one of 23 storeys stepping down to 20 storeys and another of 20 storeys stepping down to 17.

Overall, the development could include 419 “build to rent” units. Commercial uses on the ground floor would include a gym, cafe and shops.

A second application would be for a hotel building of 16-19 storeys. It would include a maximum of 200 hotel rooms.

The Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post moved out of the former Wellington Street home back in 2013. In 2015, the council granted outline planning consent for a mixed-use development across the site.

LUFC's Matthew Murray training ground

More of a long-term plan than something that will definitely take place next year, but Leeds United has been in talks with Leeds City Council to purchase the former Matthew Murray School site in south Leeds in order to create a new "world class" training facility in the coming years.

Although it is not known when, or to what extent, the club will move its training operations to the site if the plans are realised, a council meeting was told back in September that Leeds United planned to move the “bulk” of its training facilities, currently in Thorp Arch, to Matthew Murray school over the next few years.