Leeds is rapidly becoming one of the North of England’s commercial development hotspots, with representatives of the city council using the MIPIM property showcase to unveil around £500 million worth of investment opportunities in a development pipeline estimated to be worth upwards of £2.5 billion. One of the key “big six” projects in this pipeline is based at Holbeck Urban Village, for which development firm Carillion has been selected as the preferred partner.
The mixed use development, known as Tower Works, will see three Grade II listed Italianate towers incorporated into a single scheme designed to bring greater residential and employment opportunities to local residents. Altogether, the £80 million proposals will create a number of family housing units, 92,000 sq ft of high quality office space and 20,000 sq ft of A1 and A3 retail and restaurant space when completed.
Carillion and the Homes and Communities Agency will now work together to finalise the plans and submit a planning application to Leeds City Council; a process which will hopefully be concluded by the end of the year. This means that, subject to gaining planning permission, Carillion could be working on the site as early as January of next year.
Development director for Carillion Developments, Gareth Jackson, believes that the scheme could prove to be an exciting step forward in the wider regeneration of Leeds.
He says; “This is an excellent development site in Leeds City Centre which forms a key part of the Leeds city skyline.
“Our master plan proposals respectfully emulate the urban grain of Holbeck Urban Village whilst delivering a unique place making proposition of spacious canal side residential accommodation and commercial office spaces supported by complementary café bars and restaurants in an exciting part of Leeds City Centre.”
Other opportunities presented to the MIPIM conference include the Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone, HD One in Huddersfield and the Bradford City Centre Growth Zone. Representatives fromthe region at the conference are hopeful that the plethora of works in the pipeline will not only help to attract investment to the city but will also encourage businesses to seek outside the traditional city hotspots as a means of securing new premises when actively chasing corporate growth.
Chairman of Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Roger Marsh, says; “The scale of commercial investment now in the pipeline in Leeds City Region places us among Europe’s top flight for investment led growth.
“These six opportunities underline the strength of both government and business confidence in our region as an investment ready location where developers, investors and occupiers can put their growth ambitions into action.”
GVA director Ben Hall adds; “The strong upturn in the property market which is taking place in Leeds City Region will be adding to the already compelling story.
“We are seeing a surge in occupier confidence at present across all of the sectors, and with demand set to outstrip supply it would point to rental growth, which will help to drive cash flows.”
With Chris Grigorevsky
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