The owner of the former Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post clock tower has agreed to clean up the “iconic” landmark, after calls to do so from the publications, MPs and local politicians.

The two newspapers jointly launched a campaign last week to clean up the clock tower, which is on a site which has been awaiting a £400m redevelopment project.

The newspapers no longer have any control over the tower or the Wellington Street plot following its sale after they moved to new offices in 2012 but have jointly called for urgent improvements to be made for the good of Leeds.

Before winning planning permission in 2023 for three tower blocks, developer Urbanite, which is backed by private equity firm Prescient, had indicated the top of the structure would be “removed and stored/refurbished” if their application was approved.

The clock tower was retained when the rest of the former newspaper offices were knocked down in 2014.

placeholder image — The clock tower was retained when the rest of the former newspaper offices were knocked down in 2014.

But the clock tower head remains in place and has substantially deteriorated with a combination of lichen, dirt, rust, a missing corner panel and fallen-off letters visible.

After the backing of several senior politicians, including Jon Trickett, West Yorkshire’s longest serving MP and a former Leeds City Council leader, Prescient has now agreed to clean up the landmark.

Doug Friend, director of Prescient Capital, said yesterday: “We will look to undertake a cleaning exercise shortly."

The commitment came after Mr Trickett said: “It's sacrilege that the iconic emblem of this great Yorkshire institution is being left in such a shabby state.

“Frankly, whoever is responsible for allowing the Yorkshire Post and Evening Post clock tower to get into that condition should be ashamed.

“It's an insult to all those who have worked for and read these great titles to have allowed it to become such an eyesore in the Leeds skyline.

“As a long-serving Yorkshire MP, former city council leader, and someone who is Leeds born-and-bred, I'm appalled.

“For years, when I was travelling to and from work every day, I passed this landmark. The property developers that have a stake in the clock tower must deliver an urgent plan to restore it within a reasonable timeframe.

“They must also shoulder the cost. There must be no passing of the buck or excuses.”

Mr Friend had said last week that Urbanite had recently acquired the freehold of the former Yorkshire Post estate to give it full control of the site and was going to commission “further surveys/works to ensure the safe operation and management of the tower”. Meanwhile a rust removal firm called Jenolite which has previously worked on Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower offered to supply products for the potential clean-up job.