Bid to bring Leeds’ Globe Road site back to life with £180m neighbourhood moves forward

The investment partnership behind Get Living intends to transform five acres of redundant land off Globe Road in the South Bank area of Leeds in a move that will continue the ongoing expansion of the city centre. 

The application proposes eight residential buildings linked by a series of new public spaces and a new hub building with co-working space positioned overlooking the canalside. This new neighbourhood creates 783 homes for rent, including studios and 1-, 2-, 3-bedroom apartments, as well as family townhouses.

This bold new vision to bring the site back to life has been put together by the investors behind Get Living, the UK’s largest build to rent operator and best known for the transformation of the former London 2012 Athletes’ Village into a neighbourhood now known as East Village.

The design includes a 23-storey tower and a series of mid-rise buildings. Get Living said this approach allows for new pockets of public realm to be created in-between the buildings plus amenities such as food stores, retails units and a gym – which activate the ground floor and streetscape.

A key part of the proposed development is the Hub building, a pavilion that sits on the waterfront to the east of the site, which includes restaurant space at ground floor, with co-working space positioned above offering a workplace for small businesses. 

Following public consultation with the local community, the lapsed planning consent granted to the previous site owner has been reconfigured.

Architects Sheppard Robson, who have worked on major development projects in the city including Wellington Place, drew up the plans.

The scheme is Get Living’s first venture in Yorkshire and will be its third location outside London.

Rick de Blaby, executive chairman of Get Living said: “The housing shortage in the UK needs no introduction and we know from our own research that there is a demand for high quality and professionally-managed rental homes in safe, well-maintained neighbourhoods.

“A neighbourhood of this scale commits us fully to the long-term growth and success of Leeds and our role will see us working alongside the council and its own ambitious plans for the city.”

He added: “Our proposal is a significant investment and one we anticipate will support businesses that need to recruit and retain staff and, most importantly for the people of Leeds, one that delivers great homes within new public spaces.

“We have listened carefully to local people to create these ambitious plans for a new green neighbourhood and we’re particularly excited that proposal would see us opening up the site to the waterfront and creating new public routes along this stretch of the canalside.

“This area to the south of the River Aire and the canal could be totally transformed with the introduction of modern, mid-market, safe homes in an attractive waterfront location.

“We’ve also taken seriously our responsibility that this new neighbourhood at Globe Road will be the gateway architecture for anyone coming into Leeds from the south, especially by train.”

Subject to planning consent being granted, work on site would start in late 2019.