Councillors back FCBS’s super-tall Leeds regeneration plan

Plans for a £350 million mixed-use scheme in Leeds by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, which include proosals for the city’s tallest tower, have cleared a key planning hurdle.A pre-planning presentation for the South Bank project, which is being developed by Commercial Estates Group (CEG), went before Leeds councillors last week, who agreed that the project was ‘acceptable in principle’.The proposal for a site at Holbeck to the south of the city centre provides 24,000m² of office, residential and commercial space, including a 40-storey tower, across four neighbouring sites covering 2.4ha.According to the AJ’s sister title, Construction News, the committee supported the submission of a masterplan for the project and also backed the proposed phasing of the development.However, the panel added that the project would need more public realm access, including a new public route along the disused railway viaduct in the area, and said the developer should consider a wide mix of residential development – including affordable homes.According to council documents, the vast majority of the committee was supportive of the taller buildings in the development, but it emphasised the need for an ‘iconic design’ for the buildings before they could be approved.Part of the site, which borders the Leeds-Liverpool canal, lies within the Holbeck Conservation Area, which houses a number of listed historical buildings. The committee highlighted the need to maintain the heritage of the area in any redevelopment.CEG confirmed to Construction News that it aimed to lodge a full planning application for the scheme in April or May this year.CEG is also behind the £400 million Kirkstall Forge masterplan to the west of the city centre, which will provide 1,050 new homes, 300,000 sq ft of office space and 100,000 sq ft of leisure and retail. The area’s new railway station was opened in June last year.