Demolition to make way for £350m site

Demolition work started this week to make way for CEG's £350m development in the South Bank area of Leeds

Leeds-based Sirius has been appointed to manage the six-week demolition of a warehouse on Water Lane.

A six-month programme of archaeological excavation to record previously identified remains on the site will follow the demolition work.

The area housed industrialist John Marshall’s first two mills in this area of Holbeck in the eighteenth century and has witnessed significant redevelopment over the last century

CEG has also invested £300,000 into securing the grade two-listed bridge which formed a historic route for the Marshall empire and will once again form a physical link over Holbeck, connecting Water Lane and Marshall Street to CEG’s new development at Globe Road.

This, together with five other bridge crossings, will create links between the city, the wider South Bank area and existing local communities.

CEG is already marketing its South Bank development, which has detailed planning

permission for two office developments with ground floor retail and leisure totalling up to 280,000 sq ft.

It also has outline planning permission for mixed-use development of up to 1.1m sq ft of offices, retail, leisure, hotel, health and community uses, parking and up to 750 new homes, along with new public spaces and landscaping.

David Hodgson, head of strategic development in the north for CEG, said: “We’ve already had a great deal of interest from companies seeking headquarter office space just minutes from Leeds City Station.

“We will be ready to start construction this summer on the two office developments which have detailed planning permission.”

CEG, which is also the developer behind the £400m Kirkstall Forge scheme, hopes the scheme will act as the catalyst to kick-start the regeneration of an area of the city centre which for many years has seen planning permissions granted but not built out.

Jon Kenny, strategic development director of CEG, said: “This is an exceptional opportunity to breathe life back into these, creating locally and nationally important iconic landmark buildings and innovative public spaces.

“This is not just about building on a historic legacy; it is about creating a new one.”