Approval recommended for International Pool site redevelopment

The redevelopment of the former International Swimming Pool site in Leeds city centre looks set to get the green light next week (25 November 2021). Plans for the site include build-to-rent (BTR) apartments, student accommodation, an aparthotel and offices.Lisbon Street Developments Ltd submitted an application to Leeds City Council earlier this year for a 2.8-acre site on Lisbon Street.The land has been used as a car park since the pool’s demolition in 2009.Marrico Asset Management and Helios Real Estate were selected by Leeds City Council as the preferred developer for the site last year, with DLA Architecture appointed to design the new development.The hybrid application seeks full planning permission for two residential buildings of 33 and 22 storeys, providing up to 629 BTR apartments. Commercial units would be located on the ground floor of each.A 24-storey student accommodation building comprising 548 beds is also planned, together with a 15-storey aparthotel building that would provide 120 rooms and about 34,000 sq ft of office space.The detailed element of the scheme also includes improvements to the existing pedestrian and cycle bridge on the site and a basement car park beneath the BTR buildings comprising 47 car, four motorcycle spaces and 324 cycle spaces, as well as access, landscaping and public realm works.Outline planning consent is sought for an 11-storey office building providing about 140,000 sq ft of space and basement parking for up to 50 vehicles.The application will go before the council’s City Plans Panel on 25 November and is recommended for approval, subject to conditions, in an officer’s report prepared for the meeting.The development is expected to support an average of 450 construction jobs over the duration of the construction period.It has also been estimated that, when complete, the aparthotel, office and commercial floorspace would accommodate up to 1,220 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs and generate £63m to £83m per year in gross value added (GVA) for the region’s economy.Pre-application proposals for the development were presented to the council in May, with committee members broadly supportive of the scheme.The project team includes DLA, Re-form, Quod, CSD, Curtins, RBA, Turley, Brooks Ecological, Stroma Building Control, Jensen Hughes, Hydrock, Apex Acoustics, Windtech and AA Projects.