Developer Engages with Council Over Flats

Brewster Bye Architects has submitted plans to Leeds City Council to redevelop a vacant site on Merrion Street in the city into 88 high-specification studio apartments with associated amenities for students, on behalf of developer Urban Developments (York) Ltd.If the plans are approved, the vacant building at 26-34 Merrion Street would be demolished and a new building, part five, seven and nine storeys high, would be built in its place. Work would start in early 2022 with the scheme set for completion and occupancy in summer 2023.Delivered under the ‘Engage’ brand, all 88 studios will be en suite. The building will also include a lounge, gym, study rooms and cinema room as well as laundry facilities for all the students. Four of the studios will be accessible and there will also be two larger, premium studios. The development will also include a staffed reception area and 23 cycle spaces.Located on the northern edge of Leeds City Centre’s main shopping and leisure quarters, Victoria Gate and Trinity shopping centres, as well as the city’s main university campuses and Leeds General Infirmary, all apartments are less than a ten-minute walk away.The submission follows extensive engagement with planning officers. The site had previously been granted planning permission for a mixed-use scheme, four years ago.