Agenda item

To consider a report by the Chief Planning Officer which sets out details of an outline application (all matters reserved except for access) for a phased mixed use development comprising demolition of existing buildings, up to 850 residential units (C3), business uses (B1), flexible commercial uses (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B1, D1, D2), hotel use (C1), public realm including a City Park and vehicular access at Former Tetley Brewery, Hunslet Road

Hunslet, Leeds LS10 1JQ

 

(Report attached)

 

The Chief Planning Officer submitted a report which set out details of an outline application (all matters reserved except for access) for a phased mixed use development comprising demolition of existing buildings, up to 850 residential units (C3), business uses (B1), flexible commercial uses (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B1, D1, D2), hotel use (C1), public realm including a City Park and vehicular access at Former Tetley Brewery, Hunslet Road, Hunslet, Leeds LS10 1JQ.

 

Site photographs and plans were displayed and referred to throughout the discussion of the application.

 

Members were made aware that Highways England had placed a holding direction on the application and had requested work to be undertaken to understand the traffic impact of the proposed development on the motorway network, determine if any mitigation was necessary and what that might be. Members noted that the Local Planning Authority could not determine the application until such time the outcome of the requested work was understood and the holding direction had been lifted.

 

The Planning Case Officer addressed the Panel, speaking in detail about the proposal and highlighted the following:

 

·  The outline application related to the redevelopment of the area of land including Crown Point Road to the east, Waterloo Street and Bowman Lane to the north, Meadow Lane to the west and Hunslet Road (A61) to the south, a total area of 9.7 hectares. 6.69 hectares of the defined application boundary is land within the applicant’s ownership.

 

·  The second part (1.98ha) of the applicant’s ownership does not form part of this application and is the area between Crown Point Road, Black Bull Street and Hunslet Road (A61). Phase 2 will be the subject of a future planning application.

 

·  The site is located in the City Centre as designated in the Development Plan. It is also within the adopted South Bank Planning Statement 2011 and emerging Aire Valley Leeds Area Action Plan areas. The site has been under-utilised since 2011 when the brewery closed, and most of the brewery buildings were demolished. The site is currently in use as a temporary car park, temporary greenspace, temporary training facility for ASDA, and an art hub at The Tetley building.

 

·  The proposal has potential to contribute to planned new housing and jobs provision and place-making opportunities for the South Bank/Aire Valley area.

 

·  The site is currently unallocated in the saved LDF Proposals Map, but is allocated for mixed use including residential in the emerging Aire Valley Area Action Plan.

 

 

 

·  The Tetley building and gatehouse are unlisted heritage assets in the phase one application site boundary. Outside the phase one site, the Grade II listed Salem Chapel lies to the west, between Hunslet Road and Hunslet Lane, and the Grade II* listed Chadwick Lodge is to the east of the site at the junction of Crown Point Road and Black Bull Street.

 

·  The surrounding area features a wide range of existing land uses. To the north of the site along Bowman Lane and Waterloo Street are residential blocks ranging between 5 and 13 storeys including those at Brewery Wharf. To the east lies the mixed use residential development at Leeds Dock, and the education hub of Leeds College of Building, Ruth Gorse Academy, Leeds City College and Leeds University Technical College (UTC). To the south is a mixture of retail at Crown Point Retail Park, and offices at Leeds City Office Park. To the west lies the Asda office headquarters, New Lane office park and the River Aire corridor.

 

·  The proposal is an outline planning application (all matters reserved except for access) for a phased mixed use development comprising demolition of existing buildings, up to 850 residential units (C3), business uses (B1), flexible commercial uses (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B1, D1, D2), hotel use (C1), public realm including a City Park and vehicular access.

 

·  This would include up to 85000 sqm offices, 15000 sqm flexible ground floor units and up to two hotels with a combined total of 400 beds (use class C1)

 

·  Vehicular accesses are proposed on Crown Point Road, Great Wilson Street, Meadow Lane, Waterloo Street and Hunslet Road. Two main tree-loned access roads; Street ‘X’ and Street ‘Y’ are proposed with car parking up to 860 spaces (including 83 disabled parking spaces) in four basements. 

 

·  City Park - A minimum of 2 hectare of public realm as a contribution to the City Park (30% of the applicant’s ownership within the application site area) plus additional public routes, semi-private and private open spaces

 

·  The applicants propose an indicative layout and scale of buildings and spaces in support of their outline planning application for this first phase. This would be formed in 8 principal blocks ranging in height from 8 – 39 storey’s (storey heights are approximate based on 3m storey height residential and hotel, and 4m storey heights for offices and other commercial use classes):

 

·  The Flexible Commercial Uses would be accommodated at ground and upper levels in order to provide active frontages including to the proposed City Park and two new proposed east/west streets.

 

·  The City Centre Park, created by a series of phased linked “stepping stones” as first identified in the South Bank Planning Statement 2011, is an important aspect of the applicant proposals. As envisaged by the Council’s adopted vision, the Park would be formed over time by an area of land starting along the River Aire embankment in the west, sweeping across the former Tetley brewery site, giving over 3.5 hectare of greenspace made up of linked elements, including the Council’s own land in Meadow Lane, and extending to the south east across Crown Point Road. The park would be in an arc-shape across the former brewery site, principally running on a north-west to south-east orientation via a central space at The Tetley, with smaller areas of greenspace and courtyards between buildings, including a new greenspace facing Bowman Lane. Detailed allocation of functions such as events, play, recreation, landscape design and planting proposals for the park would form part of future reserved matters application(s).

 

In response to Members questions, the following issues were discussed:

 

·  Members welcomed the principle of the application, it was accepted that the application before Members was for the outline stage but there was a lack of substance, could further details be provided.

·  It appeared that Members were been asked to “approve a leap of faith” could examples be provided of work done elsewhere or possibly a site visit to understand what was planned for the whole of the site

·  The proposed courtyard area appeared to face northwest, would sunlight be able to penetrate into this area.

·  It was noted that parameter plans and highways access drawings had been provided but what other studies had been undertaken

·  How would CO2 emissions and noise reductions be achieved

·  The demand for residential accommodation in this area was likely to be high but the demand for hotel accommodation may not be as great, is it possible the scheme could be amended as a result

·  Was it intended that all the properties would be sold

·  There was already a lot of office space within the city centre, both old and new, did this scheme deliver the right balance

·  Members welcomed the proposal for a City Park but it appeared to be split into two sections, could more greenspace/ connectivity be provided to give the impression of being in a park

·  Were there any proposals for public transport for the area given the fact that the temporary car park would be closing

·  Had there been any discussions with other developers in the area about predicated traffic distribution/ circulation, had any studies been undertaken

·  Had any discussions taken place about the “Late Night Economy” late night café bars/ restaurants, convenience stores and public transport

·  Currently the site had 800 car parking spaces, where would these cars go once development of the site began 

 

In responding to the issues raised, the Planning Case Officer together with the applicant’s representative provided the following responses:

 

·  In terms of lack of detail, it was emphasised that it was an outline application with access reserved before Members, the plans were indicative at this stage and full details would be provided at the Reserved Matters stage for each phase.

·  Responding to the suggestion that Members undertake a visit to a similar in-progress scheme by the applicant, the applicants welcomed the suggestion commenting that a scheme in Stratford, London would provide an ideal opportunity to view a similar scheme. It was also suggested that a workshop could be facilitated as part of the visit to provide Members with a greater understanding of the future reserved matters phases.

·  It was reported that the proposals for the courtyard areas were flexible and could be adapted to ensure sunlight penetration.

·   On the question of what studies had been undertaken in preparation of the development, it was reported that details were provided at paragraph 3.6 of the submitted report.

·  In terms of how CO2 emissions and noise reduction would be achieved, the applicant said they were committed to meeting the Council’s sustainable construction objectives and were looking to achieve CO2 emissions 20% less than the 2013 Part L Building Regulations target, sound insulation was also a high priority.

·  Research into the provision for hotel accommodation in this area suggested the demand was high, so at this stage there was no intention to amend the scheme.

·  Responding to the question about the sale or retention of buildings by the applicant, the applicant suggested that the residential element is likely to be sold as leasehold with the commercial and retail properties retained.

·  In response to whether the scheme would deliver the right balance in terms of office space, it was suggested that there was already a good deal of office space within the area, however, some of the existing office accommodation was located in older buildings some which required modernisation or possible change of use. The applicant considered that there is a demand for new office space and it was considered that the development delivered the right balance.

·  On the issue of the City Park it was suggested that the proposal included a design brief as to how the park space should work.

·  Members were made aware that the planning permission for the temporary car park would expire in August 2022. It was reported that it was the applicant’s intention to reduce the number of car parking spaces over the next five years with a view to offering land for further development. Members noted that included within the Section 106 Agreement for this current application is a contribution towards sustainable travel plan measures.

·  Responding to the issue of predicted traffic distribution/ circulation, the Chief Planning Officer had met with Highways England regarding the proposed quantum of development in the South Bank and its impact on the traffic network, bearing in mind work done to date on the Aire Valley Leeds Area Action Plan that had been declared sound by the Planning Inspectorate.

·  Responding to the question about café bars/ restaurants and convenience stores, it was considered that the site is part of the City Centre not far from Briggate and the core shopping and office areas and that the flexible ground floor uses would enliven the ground floors of the buildings facing the park and provide activity at lunchtimes, evening and weekends

·  Responding to the issue of city centre car parking, the Chief Planning Officer reported that the city had a clear transport strategy, and that discussions had focussed around taking cars out of the City Centre to reduce congestion and pollution, and to improve air quality and place-making in the South Bank. As more development took place and car parking was lost, the Chief Planning Officer suggested that more park and ride provision would most likely feature in this strategy. 

 

In offering comments Members raised the following issues:

 

·  Although one Member indicated he was not supportive of the emerging building heights, overall, Panel Members were supportive of the principle of the application and the proposed design parametres.

·  The vision of the scheme was welcomed but there was a desire to see a lot more detail. There were a lot of detailed issues to be addressed at the Reserved Matters stage

·  A  high quality design for the scheme would be required at Reserved Matters

·  Consideration of daylight, sunlight and orientation of residential courtyards would be required at Reserved Matters stage

·  Private spaces for residents was important as well as public space

·  Members welcomed the proposal to visit a similar scheme in London by the applicant and to have pre-application and associated workshops for the Reserved Matters phases

·  It was important that a highway solution was found with Highways England, and if one could not be found the application should be brought back to Plans Panel

·  Members welcomed the inclusion of a design brief for the City Park to demonstrate how the park space would work.

 

In summing up the Chair thanked the Developers for their attendance commenting that this was one of the largest schemes to come before Members in some considerable time. The vision was impressive and Members appeared to be supportive of the application.

 

 

 

RESOLVED –

 

 

(i)  That the application be deferred and delegated to the Chief Planning Officer for approval subject to the lifting of Highways England’s holding direction regarding the impact of the proposed development on the strategic highway network and the specified conditions set out in Appendix 1 (and any others which he might consider appropriate) and the completion of a Section 106 agreement to include the following obligations:

 

·  5% on-site affordable housing in accordance with policy for the area at a prorate mix, split 60:40 lower decile:lower quartile income

·  Off- site highways works being a new pedestrian crossing on Crown Point Road between Bowman Lane and Sheaf Street £70,000, City Connect cycle scheme contribution £364,000 and Sovereign footbridge contribution £500,000

·  Sustainable travel fund £162,488.75

·  Car club contribution £69,350

·  Travel plan monitoring fee £20,000

·  City Park strategy plan

·  Public access through the site including new pedestrian/cycle routes and the City Park

·  Cooperation with local jobs and skills initiatives

 

  In the event of the Section 106 not having been completed   within 3 months of the resolution to grant planning permission,   the final determination of the application shall be delegated to   the Chief Planning Officer.

 

(ii)  That arrangements be made for Members to undertake a visit to a similar scheme by the applicant and that the visit also includes a workshop to provide Members with an opportunity for further understanding of the future detailed Reserved Matters next steps