PLANNING | Latitude office cued up for go-ahead

Leeds’ city plans panel is also expected to greenlight plans for a padel centre at the Roundhouse on Wellington Road, and a 10-storey co-living tower at Holdforth Court.

Latitude Yellow

BAM Properties last year submitted new proposals for around 150,000 sq ft of offices off Leeds’ Whitehall Road, the final part of a long-term development.

Cooper Cromar is the architect and Avison Young the planner.

Along with the commercial office space, the plans include a café and ground floor coworking facility with a gym and event space also included in what amount to 200,000 sq ft of development.

The 12-storey project will see the final plot of the Latitude site delivered at the former Doncaster Monk Bridge Works. The developer is targeting net zero status for the building.

A previous 10-storey consent was granted in 2015, with pre-commencement conditions discharged in 2017 – however, the hoped-for pre-let never emerged and the project was not enacted.

Now, with a number of other developments advancing in the area – around 2,000 apartments are either being developed or are in the pipeline – and connectivity to the city centre improved, BAM is trying once again.

Padel centre

The UK Padel Club wants to temporarily convert the listed Roundhouse building into a hive for the fast-growing sport of padel.

To achieve this, it has submitted a change of use consent from vehicle hire and office use to leisure.

The plans are appearing before the panel as they represent a significant departure from Leeds’ development plan, under which part of the site is allocated for housing.

What is sought is use of the site for 10 years: the building itself would house 33,000 sq ft of leisure including five padel courts, café and changing rooms, and the outside area would also include five courts, along with parking and landscaping.

After this, the outdoor elements would be removed and the site returned to the housing allocation. Wellbridge Properties is the site owner.

Consultee the Leeds Civic Trust said: “We support the re-use of this important listed building and the fact that it will not involve any alterations to the original structure. However, the proposal also provides the opportunity to make positive improvements to the building, such as the restoration of the existing pairs of arches which have been combined to create wide doorways, not needed by this use, and this would be a welcome benefit.”

In response to this, designs have been altered to include the requested restoration.v

The main condition attached to the recommended approval is the transfer of land for A58 footbridge improvement.

Brownhill Hayward Brown is the architect

Holdforth Court

The co-living tower would be on a site on the eastern edge of the city centre, where the A61 and railway viaduct cross. It is accessed from Brussels Street close to Crown Point Road, in an emerging residential area that includes Saxton Gardens.

Developer KMRE Group is looking to deliver the scheme, advised by ID Planning and NW Architects.

It would offer 118 one-person apartments, with 3,680 sq ft of communal recreation space at ground floor and smaller communal areas at each residential level.

The proposals replace those put forward for the site in 2022, which at 11 storeys and 189 apartments were considered unacceptable.

Officers recommend approval via deferral and delegation to the chief planning officer, with an offsite affordable homes payment of around £740,000 the main condition attached.

Co-living is relatively new to the market. Credit: planning documents