By John Baron
A future phase of a housing scheme delivering more than 1,800 new homes off Kirkstall Road has received full planning permission.
Social housing provider Clarion has drawn up plans for the Dyecoats project and has already started work on the first phase at the former Yorkshire Chemicals site. In total, up to 1,853 homes are planned – 743 would be classed as affordable.
The proposals already had outline (in principle) approval. Leeds City Council’s City Plans Panel on Thursday approved details full planning consent for plot seven, which occupies a prominent position fronting Kirkstall Road.
Plat seven comprises two residential buildings, with heights of 12 to 14 storeys and a single-storey link building. There would be 217 social rented flats, all managed by Clarion Housing Association. A courtyard garden is proposed between the two buildings.
Affordable homes would amount to 40 per cent of the overall scheme, higher than the seven per cent required under council planning policy.
At the meeting, councillors largely welcomed the detailed plans.
Councillor Colin Campbell (Lib Dem, Otley & Yeadon) questioned the detailing on the buildings facing on to Kirkstall Road.
“You could do more with the frontage into Kirkstall Road,” he said. “I appreciate they have done a lot of work on the design and the detailing on these buildings and we have some fancy brickwork but you look at these sort of buildings from two perspectives. One is from a distance and one when you walk past it.”
He later added: “We need something to break up the ‘desert’ area of the road itself and the high ‘cliff towers’ – it’s a slightly missed opportunity. You could make more of it.”
Cllr David Blackburn (Green, Farnley & Wortley) agreed the Kirkstall Road side needed ‘tweaking’ as the road area was not ‘person friendly’.
He added: “In general it looks a good scheme and what they’re looking to do with the rest of the green space, I support it.”
Cllr Peter Carlill (Lab, Calverley & Farsley) said he was reassured that people would be able to see and have access through the properties to the ‘fantastic’ green space and riverside beyond.
“On this and the other developments on Kirkstall Road I would like to see that there is a view through to that environment and that everyone can access it and we make it a less dense urban environment than before.”
The plans were approved unanimously, subject to a raft of planning conditions.
In January councillors gave outline consent for the second phase of the development. A fully detailed details plan is set to contain a proposed 28-storey building and will be considered at a future date.
The council papers and documents considered buy councillors can be viewed in full here.
The City Plans Panel meeting can be viewed in full below:
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