Offices and flats planned for former YPN Leeds site

Members of the development team will present their plans to Leeds City Council to turn the 4.6-acre site, on Wellington Street in Leeds, into three office buildings and a block of apartments.

Demolition of the former Yorkshire Post building, which was vacated almost two years ago, is nearing completion and a formal planning application is expected to be submitted next month following feedback.

Under the current proposals, three office buildings, totalling 400,000 sq ft, would range in height from 13 to eight storeys as they step down towards the river, with provision for 220 car parking spaces in the basement.

The fourth building, which would sit perpendicular to the other three, would be a block of approximately 200 one and two bedroom apartments for rent, stepping down towards the river from a height of approximately 16 storeys.

Paul Fox, of Fox Lloyd Jones, which is acting on behalf of the developer, told the Yorkshire Evening Post yesterday: “We have been working with the council for about three months, evolving the scheme to a level where we are starting to get a final picture of what it will look like. We want to present it to the council for consideration before we move to the next stage.”

The building, which housed the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post, was opened in 1970 by Prince Charles and housed more than 1,300 staff.

It was designed from 1968-1970 by John Madin, who was the architect of a number of significant buildings in the 1960s, including BBC Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham.

The Johnston Press titles are now based at No 1 Leeds on Whitehall Road.

The building was sold last year to a private investor and is being developed by a team through a vehicle called YP Real Estate.