20-storey tower plans set for approval

A proposed 20-storey tower on a former college site in central Leeds looks set to get the green light at a planning committee meeting later this week (19 September 2019).Metropolitan and District Securities, supported by ID Planning, submitted an application to Leeds City Council earlier this year for the redevelopment of the former Leeds City College Technology Campus site.Planning permission is sought for the demolition of the existing building, and construction of a new student accommodation scheme, comprising a 20-storey tower with linked eight- and six-storey elements.A total of 465 bedrooms would be provided, with a mix of clusters and studios. Three flexible commercial units would also be created on the ground floor and improvements would be made to the public realm.The scheme will be considered by the council’s City Plans Panel on 19 September and is recommended for approval, subject to conditions, in an officer’s report prepared for the meeting.Earlier this month, Leeds City College officially opened its new £60m Quarry Hill Campus, which is set to be home to 3,000 students from the School of Creative Arts and School of Social Science. Following this, the Woodhouse Lane site has become surplus to requirements.Pre-application proposals for the Technology Campus site were presented to the council’s City Plans Panel in February 2019.Members supported the principle of a student accommodation development on the site, as well as the proposed mass and form of the development.