Planning II
City Centre Life
In early 2007, a key decision was the granting of outline planning consent for the Eastgate shopping scheme. While we welcomed many features of the project, we remain concerned over the impact of this quantity of new floorspace on the existing compact retail core. Will shops near the station suffer from being too remote from the new draw of John Lewis? Do the continuing delays to the Trinity Quarter and Leeds Shopping Plaza projects reflect market nervousness? But there is investment in the former Allders’ building, in the Headrow and Merrion Shopping Centres and at the Corn Exchange – however, these are all areas closer to Eastgate.
Major office opportunities are emerging at Wellington Place in the west end of the City and initial plans point to this being an exciting development. We still see many planning applications for small apartments and question the true market of occupiers to sustain this investment. Developers have started talking about larger family flats or houses but these will require support infrastructure such as shops, schools, health centres and parks.
Outside the City Centre
The Trust’s Planning Committee supports affiliated societies in their monitoring of key planning applications and an emerging issue is that of the intensification of development. Larger houses are being replaced by blocks of flats, sites such as Leeds High School for Girls are being built upon although there is a shortage of playing fields nearby, the University’s Tetley Hall in Headingley is being redeveloped at a higher density and mills such as those at Horsforth are being extended in an unsympathetic manner to provide additional residential or office units.
It is important to provide greenspace within housing areas as a visual and physical relief. A good example is emerging at Saxton just to the east of Quarry Hill where Urban Splash is refurbishing 1950s blocks as housing for sale with gardens, orchards and allotments. We objected to the Acre on the Leeds Met University Beckett Park campus being occupied by a huge marquee-cum temporary building (albeit for only three months a year).
As development pressures increase, more changes can be expected in the City’s suburban centres and we supported replacement of the Beckett’s Pub in Meanwood once it was demonstrated that retention of the original building was not viable. We are monitoring plans for Seacroft which are intended to secure the future of the historic Seacroft Grange. But elsewhere such as Horsforth and Pudsey there has been local concern about overdevelopment.
A key factor in ensuring that all Leeds benefits from City Centre prosperity is the provision of high quality transport links. There is significant investment in highway improvements in East Leeds but public transport remains an issue. We welcomed plans for the ‘SuperTrolley’ replacement for Supertram but this must not be delivered ‘on-the-cheap’ and disfigure the areas it passes through. This is an opportunity for a comprehensive review of all street lighting, signage and advertising, helping to transform the local environment.
A Vision for the Future
The Trust has developed its relationship with the City Council through regular meetings, participating in key initiatives such as the Property Forum and in responding to specific consultation opportunities. We hope the City Model Room promoted by the Civic Architect will be an opportunity to involve the wider community in the future form of the City. More developers are coming to talk to the Civic Trust at an early stage in the design process and we hope value what we feel is constructive dialogue. Our involvement in the selection of the developer for Tower Works was an exemplar process and we hope will lead to an excellent scheme.
However, the Civic Trust is still pressing for a ‘vision’ for the City Centre – where do we all feel it should be going? Under the Local Development Framework, the City Centre Action Area Plan (and other Plans for development areas such as the Aire Valley and West Leeds) are being prepared but this is before a consensus as to the Core Strategy has been achieved. We feel that all residents of Leeds should be given the opportunity to help set a development agenda for the City Centre. There must be the strength to say no to developments which do not make a positive contribution to the townscape and lives of its citizens.
We need to ensure that the city can take better (not necessarily greater) benefits from the values generated within the development industry. There are signs that such an approach is being adopted by the City Council and we hope that the next annual report will be far more positive about the future.
Mike Piet
Chairman, Planning Committee