Agenda and minutes

The following Members attended the site visits earlier in the day:

·  A Maloney

·  J McKenna

·  C Campbell

·  B Anderson

·  A Khan

·  S Hamilton

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. He welcomed Cllr Maloney to her first Plans Panel as a new Member of Council, saying that she was the youngest Member of Council, having only recently finished university.

The Chair also welcomed substitute Members Councillors Walshaw, Hamilton and Anderson.

The Chair also welcomed back Cllr Khan after his year as Lord Mayor.

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded)

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals against refusal of inspection of documents.

1  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

  RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:-

There were no exempt items.

There were no late items.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

No declarations in interests were made at the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillors A Garthwaite, C Gruen D Cohen and D Blackburn.

Attending the meeting as substitutes were:

·  Cllr N Walshaw for Cllr Garthwaite

·  Cllr S Hamilton for Cllr Gruen

·  Cllr B Anderson for Cllr Cohen

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 19 May 2022.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 19^th May 2022 be approved as a correct record.

To receive and consider the attached report of the Chief Planning Officer regarding an application for the demolition of existing building and erection of a ten storey building, comprising ClassE(a) retail floorspace at ground floor, commercial floorspace falling under Class E(a)retail, (b) food and drink, or (d) indoor sport and recreation on the basement floor, purpose built student accommodation (sui generis) on floors one to nine, with associated communal facilities in the basement and ground floor, outdoor amenity space, plant and cycle parking.

The Chief Planning Officer submitted a report for the demolition of existing building and erection of a ten storey building, comprising Class E(a) retail floorspace at ground floor, commercial floorspace falling under Class E (a) retail, (b) food and drink, or (d) indoor sport and recreation on the basement floor, purpose built student accommodation (sui generis) on floors one to nine, with associated communal facilities in the basement and ground floor, outdoor amenity space, plant and cycle parking, at 140-142 Briggate, Leeds LS1 6LS.

Members had visited the site earlier in the day and were shown photographs, and CGI’s at the meeting.

The Panel were informed of the following points:

·  The application related to the redevelopment of the House of Fraser store on Briggate, involving the demolition of the existing 1950’s building.

·  Pre-application proposals were presented to a Consultative Meeting of City Plans Panel on 21^st December 2021. At the meeting Members confirmed the principle of the use as acceptable and that the scale and form of the development was generally acceptable, subject to details regarding materials.

·  The primary entrance and reception to the purpose-built student accommodation would be onto Central Road with student social and amenity space extending along most of the frontage.

·  A greater part of the basement would be used for commercial uses such as retail, food and drink or leisure uses, with the primary access for this area from a ground floor access from Central Road. Part of the basement would be used to support the student accommodation, containing bike and bin storage, plant, laundry, gym and cinema room.

·  The massing of the building would reduce progressively with increased height above ground floor level.

·  The purpose-built student accommodation would contain 238 bedspaces in a mix of 3-8 bedroom clusters, each cluster served by its own dedicated kitchen /living space. Also proposed are 131 self-contained studio rooms which would be distributed around the building. Communal facilities would be focused at, basement level, ground floor level and first floor level. Areas of external amenity space would be provided at first floor level as well as level 8.

·  The proposed Briggate elevation would reference elements of the attached listed building.

·  Members were shown samples of the proposed materials.

·  It was noted that any issues raised by the HSE would need to be addressed before the application is determined.

The applicant’s agents and consultants were present at the meeting to respond to Members questions.

In response to questions the Panel were provided with the following information:

·  The tree on Central Road would be saved and a survey would be undertaken to ensure that the tree was not damaged during construction. It was the proposal for seating to be provided round the tree as part of the proposed external amenity space with additional benches towards Kirkgate.

·  It was noted this area would remain a parking free zone, with only blue badge parking available. There would be a management plan for drop off and pick up at the beginning and end  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive and consider the attached report of the Chief planning Officer regarding a pre-application presentation for the conversion and extension of Wade House to form student accommodation and the construction of new 35 storey tower building for student accommodation use.

The Chief Planning Officer submitted a pre-application presentation for the conversion and extension of Wade House to form student accommodation and the construction of a new 35 storey tower building for student accommodation use.

Members had visited the site earlier in the day. At the meeting Members were shown slides, photographs and CGI’s.

Members were informed of the following points:

·  Wade House is part of the Merrion Centre estate which was built in the 1960’s.

·  In 2019 the applicant had attended Plans Panel with a proposal for offices and retail units which was approved at the Panel. However,  there was no market for office accommodation and it was now thought to be more sustainable as student accommodation.

·  The proposal would retain and re-use as much of the site as possible. Wade House would up to 3 storeys in height with the new building at 100 Merrion Centre being up to 35 storeys. The use of the buildings would be split into student accommodation but with the retail element retained with access from the Merrion Centre. It was noted that the applicants had used the Leeds Tall Buildings SPD as guidance for the layout.

·  It was intended that this site would be a walkable accessible site with new pedestrian and cycle routes.

·  Wade Lane access would be made safe and secure for new residents.

·  The proposal was for a contemporary design with emerging public realm and roof terraces.

·  The site was thought to be sustainable as they plan to retain and re-use Wade House and the future use of the 35 storey building could be easily adapted to be used for residential or hotel use if student accommodation was no longer required, with proximity to amenities.

Member’s discussions included:

·  The applicant needed to ensure that they worked with a student accommodation provider and ensure that the accommodation was suitable for all students not just wealthy students. It was noted that a provider had not been found yet.

·  Members noted that the previous planning permission had not gone ahead as the deal had fallen away.

·  The area is a traditional Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) area but would still require a survey to be undertaken to ensure that there was a demand for this type of accommodation in this location.

·  Although an emerging design, the conceptual appearance was welcomed compared to the appearance of the current building.

·  Some Members were of the view that the accommodation could be aimed at students who were in the later years of university. Student mix and affordability were important factors for this scheme.

·  The Scheme needed to ensure that it addresses the climate emergency issues.

·  Some Members raised concerns in relation to the proposed access on Wade Lane which was currently used for service vehicles. It was noted that services would use the basement for access and storage instead of Wade Lane. Concerns were also raised in relation to the courtyard proposed as amenity space which would be overshadowed by tall buildings and too small for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Thursday, 14 July 2022 at 1.30 p.m.

To note that the next meeting of City Plans Panel will be on Thursday 14^th July 2022 at 1:30pm in Civic Hall.

Meeting concluded at 15:45