Up to 263 homes could be built on the mostly derelict former Kirkstall District Centre site as part of wider plans to develop the area.
Developers Artisan today submitted its official detailed planning application to regenerate the site off Kirkstall Hill with a selection of 183 one and two bedroomed apartments and 80 terraced town houses with undercroft car parking.
The houses vary from two to four bedrooms and replicate the back-to-back terraced streets throughout Kirkstall and Burley.
Also planned for the development, which will be called Kirkstall Place, is flexible commercial floorspace which could be used as retail, professional services or offices.
Submitting the application, Artisan say:
“The proposals will regenerate this derelict site which has been redundant for 15 years, significantly improving its physical appearance and adding to the overall regeneration of Kirkstall.
“The redevelopment of the site will provide a new residential-community in the heart of Kirkstall providing you pedestrian routes improving the connectivity and permeability to the surrounding areas of Kirkstall.”
Housing
Artisan say the design for the housing on the site is inspired by existing terraced housing in the area.
A design and access statement submitted with the plans says:
“By echoing the pre-existing grain of town/ terraced housing within Kirkstall we aim to offer a modern interpretation of Kirkstall’s traditional housing stock to sit in keeping with the existing housing densities observed along the Aire Valley.
“Our masterplan utilised a block form noted throughout the Kirkstall and surrounding areas, replicating the back to back terraced streets synonymous with Leeds.”
Artisan say they have worked hard to mitigate the steep incline on the site, which was one of the major issues they faced while designing their proposals. They add:
“…Terracing the building blocks from Commercial Road to Kirkstall Hill allows for the built form to step in one storey increments absorbing the steep topography of the site and creating the opportunity for a dynamic landscape solution; creating both public open green space around the block forms and private and semi-private gardens and courtyards within them.
“It also allows the allocated parking for the scheme to be under-crofted beneath the houses and courtyard gardens creating a pedestrian friendly streetscape with limited car activity and parking.”
Access and parking
Resident car parking will be provided within the undercroft and visitor parking will be provided at street level.
In total, 264 car parking spaces will be provided, with access via Beecroft Street. These will be split between
239 allocated under croft resident car parking spaces, and 25 on-street visitor parking spaces.
There will be a storage area located within the undercroft for 330 bicycles.
Commercial
Plans submitted say the commercial area on the site offers: “a flexible range of uses at present including Class A1 (Retail); Class A2 (Professional Services); and Class B1a (Offices). The floorspace has been designed so that it can to let as a single unit or divided into separate units.”
The commercial proposals for the site are quite vague at present.
Who are Artisan?
Artisan is a property development and investment company with over 30 years of experience in leisure, office, retail, residential and industrial development. Artisan specialises in delivering mixed-use developments in urban brownfield regeneration sites throughout the UK.
The site was once subject of interest from supermarket giants Tesco, who wanted to build a supermarket there.
The plans can be viewed and commented upon here.
_______________
While you’re here…
Producing your daily dose of West Leeds Dispatch comes at a cost!
There’s the hosting of the website you’re reading now, running our popular e-mail newsletter, membership of independent press regulator Impress, attending summer events, paying for equipment etc etc.
We need at least £200 a month just to break even – that’s money currently coming out of the pockets of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about what’s happening in our communities, connecting you with local groups and organisations as well as holding decision-makers to account and championing local issues.
And all that’s BEFORE we even think about paying something for people’s time – for instance, our editor puts in more than 24 hours a week in his ‘spare’ time to ensure The Dispatch publishes daily.
To put it bluntly, after nearly four years of daily publishing, we are not sustainable!
And we need YOUR help to continue …
For the cost of less than a couple of cups of coffee you can help support local community news and continue to give our communities a voice by taking out a subscription for just £4 per month (that’s just a pound a week).
As a thanks you’ll get your name on a roll of honour on our website. More importantly you will be enabling us to keep bringing you the news that matters about your neighbourhood.
Achieving a bedrock of supporters will give us a firm financial footing and help us plan for the future.
Supporting us couldn’t be easier…
Just follow this link.
or set up a standing order with your bank:
Contact us on Paywestleedsdispatch@gmail.com if you’d like to do this.
Over to you …