Developer demands action in row over road link

Threadneedle Property Investments plans to redevelop one of Leeds's most famous industrial sites, at Barnbow, in Cross Gates, which was once occupied by the Vickers tank factory.

But the proposal for the 60 acres of land would mean delivering the Manston Lane Link Road (MLLR) to the M1, which has been delayed, much to local residents' frustrations.

Planning permission for the MLLR, which would lie within land owned by Leeds Council and Thorpe Park, was granted in the mid-1990s.

It is understood that Scarborough Group International, which owns Thorpe Park, is under obligation to build the road once it has expanded to a million sq ft of office space.

But Rupert Visick, director of industrial property specialist Gent Visick, who is acting on behalf of Threadneedle, accused Scarborough Group of being reluctant to invest any money for the road link, which could cost up to 8m to build.

"The problem is that the council did not put a timescale in place for when Thorpe Park should expand to the stage where it is forced to build the link road," he said. "The council screwed up."

He added: "We have got to reach an agreement with Scarborough. We can't build the first phase of the development without the road infrastructure.

"We have been trying the soft approach in recent years and it hasn't got us anywhere. Now we are trying the hard approach because we don't want to be messed about any longer. Threadneedle is willing to pay for part of the road but Scarborough is refusing to pay anything."

A public meeting to unveil Threadneedle's plans for hundreds of homes was held on Tuesday evening to try to rally public support for the development.

In March last year, Leeds Council granted outline planning permission to build 151 homes on the western part of the Barnbow site, and a further 256 homes on land on the other side of the road occupied by coach builder Optare.

The latest plans would see 450 homes being built on the rest of the site, along with other community facilities, which Gent Visick said would have a total build cost of between 50m and 60m.

"We want the public's support because if the planning application goes through, it would be granted subject to the road infrastructure being built," said Mr Visick.

Coun Pauleen Grahame, ward councillor for Cross Gates and Whinmoor, said: "I am in favour of the development but the traffic issue needs to be looked at. The link road needs to be built before the housing goes in or we could end up with thousands of extra cars on the road."

The Vickers site is part-occupied by a storage and distribution depot that was granted permission in 2002.

Previously, the tank factory was used by Vickers Defence Systems for the manufacture of Challenger II tanks before operations ceased in 1999.

Threadneedle Investments bought the 64-acre site from Rolls-Royce in 2001 for an undisclosed sum.

A spokeswoman for Leeds Council said: "The agreement for the delivery of the Thorpe Park link road was made several years ago when the redevelopment

of the former Vickers tank factory could not have been anticipated.

"The owners of Thorpe Park will need to generate the necessary development and income in order to pay for the new road.

"The council is keen to work with both parties to secure the development of the sites."

A spokesman for Scarborough Group International added: "Scarborough does have a legal obligation to build a road. However, given the historic and current commercial demand, we believe that possibility could be up to 10-15 years away.

"In the interim, it does not makes commercial sense for Scarborough to build out the proposed road. But, should any of the landowners to the north of Thorpe Park – as well as the local authority – wish to see the development of their site at an earlier date and the need to see the road built, then Scarborough would be more than happy to engage in meaningful discussions with all parties."

Barnbow

The state-owned Barnbow Royal Ordnance Factory opened in 1915 on a

300-acre site between Garforth and Cross Gates, in Leeds.

In its heyday, during the First World War, it employed 17,000 people.

A new factory was built at Cross Gates in 1939.

Barnbow was privatised and bought by Vickers Defence Systems, a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce,

in 1986.

It was used for the manufacture of Challenger II tanks before operations ceased in 1999.