Restoring the fortunes of Boar Lane building

Completed in 1875, 58-63 Boar Lane in Leeds was designed by local architect Thomas Ambler, who designed most of the Victorian buildings on that street.

The flurry of building work followed the Boar Lane Improvement Act, which allowed the street to be widened from 21 feet to 66 feet.

The scheme was the brainchild of Sir John Barran, the pioneer of the Leeds ready-made clothing industry and Lord Mayor of Leeds in 1870 and 1871.

Pictured here in 1951, Boar Lane was a busy and thriving shopping area. In recent years, the listed building, which last saw action as The Square pub until its closure in September last year, has been a bit neglected but under its new name of Trinity Square, it is now going through a major £1m refurbishment programme as part of a revival of the area.

As revealed in the Yorkshire Post last week, Wetherby-based developer Oakgate Group bought the 20,000 sq ft building, the site of the former Peel Hotel, for £2.8m from TCGT Holdings of Guernsey.

Trinity Square sits between two entrances into Land Securities’ major retail scheme Trinity Leeds, which is currently being built.

It will sit next door to one of the largest Primark stores in the country.

Sainsbury’s has already committed to opening a Local store there in the summer. It already has stores in Leeds City Station, The Merrion Centre and The Headrow.

There are a further four retail units available to lease on two floors within the building.