By John Baron
A dilapidated and dangerous former clinic in Armley will be transformed into flats after council planners gave the green light.
Plans to demolish the former Theaker Lane clinic and build 18 apartments in two, four storey blocks were submitted to Leeds City Council two years ago by Stanningley-based WTS Armley Ltd.
The derelict site, just off Armley Town Street, has sat empty for many years and has been subjected to vandalism, arson and anti-social behaviour. It’s been branded locally as an ‘eyesore’.
A number of concerns – including parking and overdevelopment – had been raised by council officers, but these have now been overcome.
A planning officer’s report approving the plan said: “The scheme proposes to remove an abandoned property which has been in an advanced state of disrepair for many years and to significantly improve the visual appearance of the site.
“It is considered that the scheme offers an acceptable density and mix of housing, appropriate to the mixed residential and commercial character of its surroundings, and with appropriate levels of car parking given the sustainable location of the site in the town centre.”
The proposals, which can be viewed here, were approved subject to 24 planning conditions.
Previous unsuccessful plans for the Theaker Lane clinic site include a 22-bed hostel with six kitchens in 2016.
The building was subject to an arson attack in 2018, dubbed at the time by Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves as a ‘wake up call’ for Leeds City Council to properly secure the building.
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Both LCC and Leeds NHS should be ashamed at the catastrophic consequences of abandoning the clinic for shiny new PFI building up the road with absolutely no plan for former site. A collective disgrace that would never be ignored in other more affluent areas of the city.