More than 1,000 apartments could be built in Leeds city centre under joint venture agreement

Cole Waterhouse and Tonia Investments have purchased a 3.8 acre brownfield site in Leeds city centre after securing planning permission for 1,012 apartments, over five separate blocks.

Currently known as ‘Leeds City Village’, the triangular site sits opposite Leeds’ cultural district, Quarry Hill. The site was formerly home to the Marsh Lane Goods Yard.

The joint venture sees Cole Waterhouse and Tonia Investments working in partnership for the first time.

Damian Flood, CEO at Cole Waterhouse, commented: “We seek to build developments where placemaking is central to the design to help deliver places that are desirable destinations as well as great places to live.”

Commenting on the acquisition, JV partner Tonia Investment Principal Charlie Qian said: “Tonia is excited to work with Cole Waterhouse. We hope the delivery of this impressive scheme will add to the continued expansion of the city eastwards. It will provide an acre of new public realm that we hope will complement the success of the neighbouring cultural quarter.”

A spokesman said: "The joint venture partnership now aim to progress the scheme with Leeds City Council. They plan to make a series of design changes to enhance the residential offering and public realm space.

"The revisions to the submitted planning application will ensure that the development meets occupiers’ expectations now and in the future; proposed changes include adjusting the balance of studio apartments for larger one-bed apartments as well as providing a sharper focus on the communal areas and the overall scheme design. Enhancements to the public realm will seek to address functional improvements that enable better use of outdoor spaces for entertainment, exercise and leisure."

Mr Flood said: “Understanding the area’s culture and the community’s future ambitions is crucial and we will be appointing a local cultural lead to help us shape the scheme to ensure it meets the aspirations of local residents. This community-first approach has been hugely successful for us at other schemes, helping to really connect and engage with the local market from the earliest stage of the development.

“We’re really excited to be working in Leeds at a time when it is undergoing a significant period of transformation and we will be appointing a primarily Yorkshire-based team to deliver the project over the next six years. We will be submitting the revised planning application by the end of 2022 with the intention to start on site as soon as planning is granted.”

Cole Waterhouse has a pipeline to deliver more than 2,000 residential units across its sites in Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester.