Agenda and minutes

The site visit was attended by Cllrs J McKenna, E Flint, N Sharpe, and B Anderson.

RESOLVED – To elect Cllr McKenna to the Chair for the duration of the meeting.

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.

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 of interests were made at the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr C Gruen and Cllr A Lamb.

Cllr McKenna was present as substitute for Cllr Gruen and Cllr Smith was present as substitute for Cllr Lamb.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 11^th November 2021, for approval as a correct record.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 11^th November 2021, be approved as a correct record.

To consider the report of the Chief Planning Officer in relation to the demolition of the Nave and Aisles of the church, replaced with a six storey extension; the Chancel, Transept and Altar areas will be retained and restored to contain 62 no. apartments. The Presbytery will also be demolished and replaced with a 5 storey apartment block of 113 no. apartments (total residential development comprising of 175 units); Other works including new access, proposed EVCP parking, cycle storage and landscaping works at Mount St Marys Church, Church Road, Richmond Hill, Leeds, LS9 8LA

(Report attached)

The report of the Chief Planning Officer presented an application in relation to demolition of the nave and aisles of the church, replaced with a six storey extension; the chancel, transept and altar areas will be retained and restored to contain 62 apartments. The presbytery will also be demolished and replaced with a five storey apartment block of 113 apartments; other works including new access, proposed EVCP parking, cycle storage and landscaping works at Mount St Marys Church, Church Road, Richmond Hill, Leeds, LS9 8LA.

Members had visited the site earlier in the day. Throughout the officers’ presentation Members were shown slides and photographs.

It was acknowledged that Members had resolved to defer and delegate approval of the applications to officers, subject to the completion of S106 Agreement at the 18^th February 2021 meeting of North and East Plans Panel.

Members were informed that the scheme was now returning to Panel as the applicant was now seeking greater flexibility in terms of the potential delivery method to include Build to Rent, as originally reported and now also Build to Sell. It was noted that this chosen delivery method would have a differing impact on the scheme’s overall viability compared to that which was presented to Members in February. Therefore, it was necessary for this element of the proposal to be presented for consideration.

Members were advised that, in light of this, this report was to focus on the consideration of the viability appraisal only and how this could impact on ability to fulfil any planning obligations necessitated by the development (which will be ensured via the review mechanism). It was noted that there had been no other changes to material considerations since the proposals were last reported to Panel, including that the planning context remained the same.

It was recognised that a number of the current Panel Members were not party to the consideration of the scheme in February 2021. Therefore, a copy of the original officer report was attached to the submitted report at Appendix 1 along with a copy of the minutes from the February 2021 meeting appended at Appendix 2.

Members were requested to note that the officer recommendations remained as set out in February 2021, with the exception of the delivery method which now included both Build to Rent and Build to Sell options.

Members were advised of the following points:

·  The building had been vacant since 1989 and had fallen into a state of dilapidation.

·  Ward Members had been consulted on the proposals for the new delivery methods. It was noted that Cllr R Graham had requested potential values for sale which had been supplied to him, but no further representations had been received from Cllr Graham since the figures were provided.

·  The alternative delivery options would form part of the S106 agreement and its clauses providing for a viability review. The developers wished to be able to supply housing to a wider market.

·  That the submitted viability statements showed that both Build to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

The next meeting of the North and East Plans Panel is scheduled for Thursday 13^th January 2022, at 1:30pm in Civic Hall, Leeds.

RESOLVED – That the next meeting of North and East Plans Panel will be on Thursday 13^th January 2022, at 1:30pm in Civic Hall, Leeds.

The Chair expressed his pleasure at this site going forward. He said that as Member of Plans Panel he had seen numerous applications for this site. He looked forward to seeing this development which would restore some of the original building to its former glory.

He thanked everyone for their attendance and contributions and wished all a Merry Christmas.

The meeting concluded at 14:25