Heritage and Conservation - Historic Buildings and Areas
Two Decades of Progress
Today Leeds is one the country’s most attractive and talked about cities because of its remarkable blend of historic and modern buildings. Almost two decades of sustained and extensive public and private sector investment in its built heritage has re-polished many of its architectural gems. The Trust’s forthright advocacy of the retention and adaptation of the city’s historic buildings has proved invaluable to this process.
Recent City Centre Achievements
It has been a good year for churches: St Anne’s Cathedral has been undergoing extensive renovation, while St George’s has regained its spire financed by planning gain from an adjacent housing development. The rather forlorn former General Post Office in City Square has been splendidly adapted to incorporate two restaurants with the most stylish and luxurious serviced apartments above. Importantly, it now brings vitality to City Square. The renovation of The Grand and the Leeds Institute is noted elsewhere. The Trust has been consulted and commented on all of these important projects.
Moving to the fringes, Phase II of the award winning Round Foundry complex in Holbeck Urban Village is well underway, while Yorkshire Forward’s acquisition of Tower Works is set to ensure a high quality and sympathetic development. The Trust has been represented on the advisory panel to select the developer for the project.
Contentious and Difficult Developments
The establishment of the Holbeck Urban Village project with a dedicated project officer has clearly demonstrated the best way forward in tackling complex development problems especially in historic areas. Inevitably, a long development boom will leave a residue of sites undeveloped because their development has proved contentious or it has been difficult to make the figures stack up.
Over the past year the Trust has been in the forefront of controversy on three such highly important sites. In September 2005 planning permission was granted for the over-intensive development of the historic Warehouse Hill quayside, which we have fought tooth and nail for three years. Very recently this wonderful strategically-located, south-facing waterfront site has been sold; there may yet be hope for a more imaginative development.
Hot on its heels we were involved in a colossal row over our forthright opposition to the Isis scheme for Leeds Canal Basin. In the process of granting planning permission for two 14-storey and one 22-storey buildings (primarily a hotel and residential accommodation) and turning much of the Dark Arches into a car park, the Council chose to disregard its three planning guidance documents for this highly sensitive open space and Conservation Area.
The Council was likewise perturbed by our temerity in applying (unsuccessfully as it turned out) for the listing of the Blomfield-designed bookend buildings on Eastgate in an attempt to ensure that the best historic features and architecture of the north-east part of the city centre were not entirely swept away by a huge comprehensive redevelopment scheme. On all three of these schemes we have had extensive discussions with the developers and the Council, and we sincerely thank them for these. Nevertheless, we must re-iterate that Leeds is admired because of the way in which over the last two decades it has sensitively integrated modern development with its best existing and historic architecture. It is folly to abandon this practice for the more difficult sites. We back the principle of the Eastgate Quarter, which would unlock two long-empty major brownfield sites, but given the large area of already cleared land the proposed demolition of the characterful Lyons Building demonstrates an inflexible and unimaginative approach to urban renewal.
A fourth difficult site is the south side of Kirkgate extending through to the Corn Exchange. The limitations placed on development by the small scale and dilapidated state of these Georgian buildings, including the hugely important First White Cloth Hall of 1710, in the city’s very first street, make economic viability extremely problematic. During the year we have met jointly with the owners, the Council and English Heritage in a combined effort to produce a workable solution.
Further Afield
The Trust often looks at heritage matters beyond the city centre. We have been delighted this year by the opening of the Kirkstall Abbey visitor centre and the grant-aid for Beckett Street Cemetery. But two historic buildings, in particular, continue to give us cause for concern: Mount St Mary’s Church and Hunslet Mill. These are landmark buildings must be conserved but the economic viability of redevelopment continues to pose major challenges.
Kevin Grady
Director