Revised plans for apartments at historic Leeds building set for approval

Previously deferred plans to redevelop a historic Leeds building to create new apartments have been revised and are now recommended for approval.Belmont House Development Ltd, supported by Johnson Mowat and Shaw & Jagger Architects, submitted an application to Leeds City Council in the spring of 2021 for the redevelopment of the former Belmont House office complex on Wood Lane in Headingley.Belmont House was built in the late 19th century as a residence for inventor and businessman George Bray, who developed a new type of ceramic gas burner and techniques for mass production.The property was most recently in office use but was vacated in 2020. The site also includes the Roundhouse office building, built in 2002, and former stable block, Coach House, which are to be demolished to make way for new apartment blocks.The application was recommended for approval earlier this year but subsequently deferred for reasons relating to design and scale, dominance, sustainability and carbon dioxide reduction and Vacant Building Credit.The applicant was asked to explore the possibility of removing the second floor of the proposed side extension to Belmont House to reduce the impact on Belmont House and neighbouring sites and increase the height of the Bray House element to compensate.In the updated plans, the proposed extension to Belmont House has been reduced considerably in scale by removing the second floor and the building will now be home to nine apartments and one town house, while the proposed block known as Bray House has been amended to include an additional storey to compensate for the loss of the second floor to the Belmont House extension.There will be eight apartments in Bray House, up from seven, and six units on the site of the Coach House.The plans have been recommended for approval, subject to conditions addressing issues raised when the application was deferred.