A new shopfront with roller shutters on Armley Town Street is set to replace Armley’s ‘hippo’ mural – despite objections from two councillors.
Leeds City Council planners have approved proposals by Iftakar Ali to split an empty shop unit in two and introduce a new shopfront, reinstating a door and window; and adding internal roller shutters at an empty retail unit in Town Street, at the junction with Branch Road.
A design statement submitted with the application said: “The retail unit is currently vacant and has been for six months prior. The landlord is having difficulty in re-letting the unit in its current form, however has interest from tenants requiring smaller units with a more favourable rent due to the current economic climate.
“The unit is proposed to be split in two, allowing small business start-ups to take advantage of lower rents.
“The proposed shopfront is to be of a traditional design constructed in timber with raised mouldings in order to enhance the historic significance of the Armley conservation area.”
The statement says the proposal would ‘remove an obtrusive mural, and offer a much more attractive shopfront with traditional features and attract more variation of small businesses’.
But the proposal met with objections from Armley Green Party councillors Lou Cunningham with Clancy Walker.
They said the roller shutters and their boxes would obscure the historic detailing and create a ‘hostile’ streetscene and that the mural is a welcoming and creative feature.
A council planning officer’s report approving the application concluded: “The proposal seeks permission for a new shopfront within Armley Conservation Area and adjacent to the setting of Listed Buildings. This would reinstate a traditional shopfront, remove a deteriorated mural and create an active frontage to the streetscene.”
WLD reported in 2019 how Armley’s famous hippos were brought to life in a mural at the junction of Armley Town Street and Branch Road.
The hippo on the colourful artwork refers to the hippo bones from four animals found in 1851 at the site where Armley Gyratory now sits. The mural was the work of Leeds-based King Monk Studio, who were supported by Butt Lane McDonalds, Amber Cars, Krol Mini Market and Leeds City Council.
WLD reported in March that initial plans for a new shopfront and the installation of external roller shutters were refused by council planners.
- The latest plans can be viewed in full here.
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Soooooooo, what are the shops going to be ? Maybe a barbers & vape shop no doubt ! It certainly won’t be something that we actually want or need
Agree but what shops does Armley “want and need”. exactly? The decline of the old Town Streets is countrywide and NO COUNCIL has come up with a solution..
Afraid that with proliferation of Aldis Lidls B&Ms Home Bargains etc the ” Ship has Sailed”
This is disappointing news. What’s going to replace it? As Lesley suggests probably just a vape shop, a barbers, or a take away, or convenience store. Something Armley already has several of. Armley never seems to get ‘variety’ of businesses, just lots of the same thing over and over. Vapes, booze, and junk food. The mural should have been better looked after, and not left to deteriorate. Really disappointing.
Every town street now seems to be blighted by nail bars , barber shops , vape shops , takeaways, phone shops, foreign food shops etc, all with ugly loud signage, our high streets are gone to the foreigners, and that mural, sorry, its horrible