Cheesecake Hall: Inspector rejects plans for 'overtly modern' home on site of 16th century hall near Leeds

Cheesecake Hall stood just off what is now Wakefield Road in Oulton, Leeds.

The timber-framed house was demolished in the 1970s, and the site has since stood abandoned and is now overgrown.

Daniel and Sophie Furness of LT Design Ltd went to appeal after Leeds City Council refused planning permission last September for a three-bedroomed home “in the same location and approximate footprint” of Cheesecake Hall.

Inspector R Walker said nature had reclaimed what was left of the Hall, including limited sections of walling, remnants of low-lying building material and hardstanding “such that the remains of the historical permanent structure have blended into the landscape”.

The Hall had a narrow linear plan form and was built with shaley sandstone, pebble-dash render and stone roof slates.

The Inspector said it was that the proposals sought to replicate a 16th century hall, adding: “However, I do not consider the scheme before me to succeed in these aims.

"The design, with the combination of its depth and gable widths, multiple gables, fenestration, height and double bay garage, would result in a dwelling with an overtly modern appearance.”

He concluded the building, directly opposite the junction with Pennington Lane, would be “inappropriate development” in the Green Belt and there would also be harm to the “character and appearance of the surrounding area and highway and pedestrian safety”.

Why the house was called Cheesecake Hall is not known. Yorkshire curd tarts, a baked cheesecake-like dessert, have a history stretching back to the mid-1600s. They were often associated with the Whitsun feasts and fair days.