New bridge in place at £350m Kirkstall Road development in Leeds

After the parts were spliced together, a three-hour lifting operation using a thousand-ton mobile crane put the 71.5 ton bridge safely into position.

The new bridge is one of the most visual indicators to date of the progress being made to regenerate the former dye works site into a new riverside neighbourhood.

It replaces the previous bailey bridge and will form an important new north/south connection, linking the adjacent communities and opening up access to the canal, river and surrounding areas.

It forms part of plans for the scheme to promote sustainable travel and create better links across this part of the city.

The scheme is set to create 2.2 hectares of green infrastructure including a new square, a riverside park in addition to the reinstatement of the existing bridge over the river.

Once complete, the Kirkstall Road development will provide 1,620 homes with over 500 of those properties being affordable tenures, setting a new benchmark for the provision of affordable homes in Leeds.

The development is being built by Latimer, the development arm of Clarion Housing Group, the UK’s largest housing association.

The new district on the banks of River Aire will also create over five acres of public open space including a new square and a riverside park.

Richard Cook, group development director at Latimer said: “It’s pleasing to see our scheme at Kirkstall Road achieve another significant milestone as enabling works continue on site.

“We are confident that this development will be a game-changer for Kirkstall Road and Leeds as a whole, providing a high-quality mixed use, tenure blind, sustainable community that will attract residents, businesses and visitors.

"Even more encouraging is the activity we are starting to see in the surrounding areas.”

The development is set to offer one-bed, two-bed and three-bed homes, and planning has been granted for 259 parking spaces to be delivered as part of the project.

Fifty per cent of these will have electric vehicle charging points fully installed, while the remainder will have the infrastructure in place to facilitate further electric vehicle charging points.

Latimer broke ground last November at the site, with a number of key local stakeholders from Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority attending a ceremony to officially mark the start of work.

The first homes are projected to go on sale in 2024 and the first residents moving in in 2025.

Latimer is also working with Leeds City Council and Leeds-based homelessness charity St George’s Crypt to provide short term homes on the site.

Ten modular units, which include one management office, have been constructed on site and are being managed 24-hours a day by St George’s Crypt.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire and chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority said: ““Schemes like this are vital.”

She added: “Everyone deserves a good, secure home and we will continue to develop brownfield land across the region and regenerate places like Kirkstall to bring new jobs into the region.