Plans for 371 apartments on site of leather tannery works likely to be approved

FIVE blocks of flats are set to be built on a former leather tannery site in Leeds after a plan for hundreds of homes was approved, subject to an agreement on road improvements.

The proposal for 371 flats in blocks of up to ten storeys in Buslingthorpe Lane raised fears over the loss of an important heritage site and the impact on nearby householders.

Buildings at Hilltop Works, a former leather tannery in the Buslingthorpe Conservation Area, will be demolished to make way for the scheme.

The project was set out at the city council’s North and East plans panel, which received 27 objections to the plan. People living on nearby Scott Hall Drive feared traffic problems on narrow Buslingthorpe Lane would be worsened by extra vehicles. They were also worried the development would block light from their gardens and ruin the view from their homes, planning documents said.

The developers Option Two Development and Domus UK Ltd said parts of a high stone wall along Buslingthorpe Lane and a former industrial chimney would be rebuilt to maintain the historic character of the site. Part of Buslingthorpe Lane would be widened if the scheme goes ahead.

The objectors said: “Development makes a mockery of the Conservation Area status of Buslingthorpe. Hilltop Works is one of the last buildings of its kind in this area and hundreds of years of history will be lost if it is flattened.”

The council report said historic buildings to be knocked down were the former Hilltop Works building and former cottages thought to be the birthplace of city’s leather tanning industry. The applicant had demonstrated that it was not viable to retain the buildings, officers said.

Approval would be subject to a section 106 planning agreement which includes financial contributions to nearby road.