MP calls for rethink over council’s plans to sell city site for businesses

LEEDS MP Hilary Benn has urged the city council to “think again” over controversial plans to sell the Aire Street Studios space which is home to around 30 small businesses.

The site was recently placed on the Labour-run council’s disposal list, with businesses asked to vacate the premises by January 31 next year.

Writing on social media, Labour MP Mr Benn said the sale could “damage the creative sector” in the city, adding “how can all these small businesses be given notice with – apparently – no consultation at all.”

In a statement issued less than an hour before Mr Benn’s comments, Leeds Council said that “unprecedented budget pressures” had played a part in its decision to dispose of the premises, adding “for its present use to continue, the building would require a seven-figure investment to ensure it meets regulatory and energy performance standards”.

The council also said that it had informed LCVS, the building's leaseholder, that the building had been identified as a likely asset for sale in September of last year.

The statement added: "It was our expectation that LCVS, as leaseholder, would pass this news on to their individual tenants as soon as possible.

“The council is the site’s freehold owner and it has no formal relationship with the tenants of LCVS. As such, it is LCVS’s responsibility to liaise with them on matters such as a potential sale of the building.

“At September’s meeting, we also agreed to a request from LCVS for their current lease to be extended through to January 2025 so that their tenants had more time to find alternative accommodation prior to any sale.

“However, it appears that the tenants were not informed of the plans for the site until last week.

“This is clearly regrettable but we would once again stress that LCVS have known about our likely intentions since September.”

LCVS has been approached for comment.

Aire Street Workshops Committee has asked for a meeting with the council, adding in an online statement: “The community and occupants at Aire Street Workshops have not been considered in any decision making process.”

The statement also claims that the businesses could not have been made aware of the intention to sell in September, as the proposal to do so was only made in February.

In a statement posted online earlier this week, Take It Easy Film Lab, a family business based in Aire Street Workshops described the sale as an “attack on the existence of small business within Leeds”.

Aire Street Workshops were founded 30 years ago and run by LCVS, a not-for-profit independent company set up in 1981.