Metropolitan Demolition appointed on Gipton Gates job
Removal of the two 10-storey flats in the Harehills area of Leeds could start in June, with plans suggesting the site will be earmarked for residential development.
Metropolitan was appointed last week with a budget of between £3-5m for the project, which is expected to take around 11 months to carry out.
Owned by Leeds City Council and located to the north east of the city, refurbishment of the two buildings is not considered viable due to layout and quality issues.
Costs for the work include provisions for the removal of asbestos.
Ridge is acting for the council, and submitted an application last March to see whether prior approval would be required for the demolition of the buildings, known as Gipton Gate West and Gipton Gate East.
At the time, the application states that the Gipton Gate West site will be redeveloped into a single eight-storey residential building, with the east tower expected to be replaced with a similar number of apartments.
Currently, the towers comprise 120 flats and cover 2.5 acres, including parking and garages, with efforts to rehome residents beginning as far back as 2022.
A council report noted that “the demolition of these blocks will enable the council to remove unsustainable and lower quality homes from the council housing stock and enable these to be replaced by new modern housing.”
