Provisional approval for ‘vibrant neighbourhood’ brewery plans

AMBITIOUS PLANS to redevelop Leeds’s historic former Tetley Brewery site to create a “vibrant neighbourhood” in the city centre have moved a step closer to fruition.

International developer Vastint UK’s outline application for the Hunslet Road site, on the edge of the city centre, includes up to 850 homes, office and commercial space and possibly two hotels.

Council chiefs on the City Plans Panel unanimously voted to move the plans on to the next stage yesterday.

Dubbed one of the biggest applications the city centre has seen, the proposals also pave the way for the council’s City Centre Park vision, to create a large green space in the city centre connecting the emerging South Bank area.

A report prepared ahead of the meeting says Vastint has pledged to contribute up to two hectares to the council’s City Centre Park green space in its first phase of development.

Coun James McKenna, chairman of the panel, told the meeting the application was one of “the most exciting I can remember”. He said: “It is a very big application. It is going to bring credit to the city and put us on the map.”

After a detailed pre-application stage, the plans will now be deferred to the council’s chief planning officer for approval, once highways and Section 106 contributions are resolved. The firm will then return to the panel with an application for full planning permission.

Vastint UK specialises in largescale, mixed-use development schemes.

The company currently owns more than 29 hectares of land in Leeds, London and Cardiff.