Green light for Fearns Wharf
Leeds City Council has granted permission for JM Construction’s office-to-resi conversion, which will create 82 apartments fronting the River Aire in the Leeds dock area.
The former base of the Canal & Rivers Trust was bought by JM Construction in 2022 when it became vacant.
The project team includes Beckwith Design Associates, BWB, Environmental Noise Solutions, Walton & Co, and floods advisor JBA Consulting.
The plan is to turn the 35,000 sq ft office building into a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, the conversion of attic space, an addition of two floors, and a full height extension on the Neptune Street elevation.
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During the application process, concerns were raised about potential flooding, however a report from JBA noted the scheme was amended to provide flood water storage in the basement.
Fearns Wharf was completed in 2002 as part of the regeneration of East Street and Leeds Dock, accompanying other major developments such as the Royal Armouries, across from which it sits.
The building was one of a network of regional headquarters for British Waterways, which was then taken out of government and moved into the civil sector in 2012, when C&RT was officially launched.
The site is accessed from Neptune Street, a cul-de-sac featuring buildings of up to eight storeys, and the Knights Way pedestrian bridge from Leeds Dock.
The undercroft parking would be part of the residential space, with the total number of parking spaces reduced from 63 to 27.
