Developer pushes to delay £7m Kirkstall Forge payment as costs bite

GMV Twelve has submitted an application to Leeds City Council to amend the S106 agreement, arguing that the current parameters are hindering housing delivery on the site.

Kirkstall Forge is a £600m, 56-acre site to the north west of Leeds city centre that has already delivered commercial space in the form of its Number One office development and is due to turn its attention to the residential section of the site, alongside Banks Homes.

The S106 agreement, originally signed in 2007 and amended in 2014, secured financial contributions towards major infrastructure, including £5.3m to help unlock funding for the Kirkstall Forge railway station.

A further contribution of £3.5m, which later increased to £4.67m, was agreed to support improvements such as work at Horsforth roundabout, affordable housing, education, and wider community provision.

The indexed value of this contribution now stands at approximately £7.04m.

Under the terms set out in the 2014 variation, the full sum becomes payable once a formula-based threshold of residential and office floorspace is reached and based on current levels of completed office space, this equates to payment being triggered when 149 dwellings are occupied.

GMV Twelve states in its application that this requirement is creating viability challenges at an early stage of housing delivery and is preventing the next phases of development from progressing.

Companies House lists GMV’s company secretary as CEG, which recently went into administration, and its owners as Gerard Versteegh, Nicholas Lee, and Alexandra Anthony.

The application also notes the council is aware of the viability challenges at the site, following a recent valuation report by Avison Young, which is the council’s own appointed valuer.

The cost of remediation and infrastructure has been more than expected, and currently sits close to circa £60m. The company says the timing of the contribution no longer aligns with current planning policy or the council’s priorities, noting that similar obligations are now typically phased according to a greater proportion of completed homes.

The proposed modification seeks to introduce revised triggers, which GMV believes would better reflect modern practice, allow continued residential delivery, and still secure the full contribution for affordable housing, education, and community benefits.

Legal firm Walton & Co is acting on behalf of GMV. Leeds City Council will consider the application in due course.