Agenda item

To consider a report by the Chief Planning Officer which sets out details of a pre application presentation which seeks the partial demolition and rebuilding of the Leonardo Building, the conversion of Thoresby Building and 2 Great George Street for a change of use from offices to a mix of hotel, office, restaurant/café and bar uses and the extension of existing buildings, with a new build hotel on car park site at The Leonardo Building, Thoresby House and 2 Great George Street, Leeds, LS2 8HD

(Report attached)

With reference to the meeting of 10^th May 2018 when Members received a

pre-application presentation in respect of this site.

The Chief Planning Officer now submitted a report which presented an evolving scheme which sought the partial demolition and rebuilding of the Leonardo Building, the conversion of Thoresby Building and 2 Great George Street for a change of use from offices to a mix of hotel, office, restaurant/café and bar uses and the extension of existing buildings, with a new build hotel on the car park site at The Leonardo Building, Thoresby House and 2 Great George Street, Leeds, LS2 8HD

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

Planning Officers together with the applicant’s representatives addressed the Panel, speaking in detail about the proposal and highlighted the following:

·  The proposals involves the regeneration and extension of the Grade II Listed Thoresby and Leonardo Buildings and No. Great George Street and the creation of a new third building between the two historic buildings. All proposed works would facilitate a change of use from offices to a mix of hotel, office, restaurant/café and bar uses across the site. Following the meeting of the City Plans Panel on 10^th May 2018 the scheme had been revised such that all building heights had been reduced by one storey, the central new building had been remodelled allowing it to become more contextually relevant, the new corner building to the Leonardo building has been redesigned, the roof top extension to No.2 Great George Street has been amended from a curved to a rectilinear form and the depth of the public space between the new building and Thoresby House had increased to some 16.8 metres in width. The changes seek to enhance both the scheme and the setting of the existing and proposed buildings within their heritage rich location.

·  The changes to the Thoresby Building would require demolition of the attached 20^thcentury Leonardo Building (but not the older part of the Leonardo Building) and the roof of the Listed Thoresby Building. A new extension would be built to replace the removed part of the Leonardo Building as well as a second extension across the top of the retained part of the Leonardo Building and the Thoresby Building. The regenerated set of buildings would be put into use as office space, with ground floor A1 retail, A3 (restaurant and café) and A4 (bar) uses. A large new entrance point would be created to the east face of the building, to sit between the two existing stone detailed doorways, which would link into the building’s retained atrium.

·  The Listed No. 2 Great George Street would be altered internally with the addition of a mezzanine to add in an extra floor space for the creation of a new premium hotel. In addition, the existing 20th century entrance portal will be removed and a new entrance to the west face of the building will be created. In addition a new glass extension would be added to the roof top of the building. To the ground floor level a mix of A3 (restaurant and café) and A4 (bar) uses is proposed

·  On the car park in the middle of the site it is proposed to create a new third building to house a second hotel. This would be a contemporary building which would be scaled and detailed to take account of the site’s historic context. At the ground floor level a mix of A3 (restaurant and café) and A4 (bar) uses are proposed with the aim being that users can access any and all of the ground floor uses across the three buildings.

·  Between the three buildings new publicly accessible open landscaped spaces are to be created. These would be accessed from north south routes through them or from east west routes running between the three buildings.

Members raised the following questions:

·  Had the closure of Rossington Street and the creation of a pedestrian area been considered

·  The roof top extension to 2 Great George Street was too solid, more glass was required

·  Is there a lighting scheme for the public realm areas

·  Would the developer engage with the Council in respect of co-ordinating planned events on Millennium Square and the proposed public realm

In responding to the issues raised, the applicant’s representatives said:

·  The applicant confirmed that Rossington Street provided access to the proposed site and other nearby premises and it was important to have some form of drop off point

·   The applicant reported that long hard discussions had taken place about the design of the roof top extension. It had to fulfil the functional requirements of the proposed hotel use as well as provide an appropriate high quality appearance. It was considered that a proud statement of confidence was required and the design sought to achieve that

·  The applicant confirmed there was a lighting plan for the public realm areas, the intension was to co-ordinate with and complement planned events on Millennium Square

In offering comments Members raised the following issues:

·  All Members were of the view that the roof top extension proposal to 2 Great George street was unacceptable. Further redesign was required including the use of more glass

·  The massing and form of the proposed new contemporary hotel, located in the middle of the site had improved. Members provided a mix of comments on its appearance with some supportive of the emerging details and others stating that a more glassy appearance would be preferable

·  Members were supportive of the proposals for the Leonardo Building

In drawing the discussion to a conclusion Members provided the following feedback;

·  Members were supportive of the progressing scale, massing and design of the proposals, however further design work to the roof top extension to 2 Great George Street was required

The Chair thanked the developers for their attendance and presentation suggesting that real progress had been achieved but we were not quite there yet.

RESOLVED –

(i)  To note the details contained in the pre-application presentation

(ii)  That the developers be thanked for their attendance and presentation