Leeds City Council has confirmed details of the positive and proactive steps it is taking to safeguard the future of key heritage assets on a landmark local street.
The council’s plans for a row of run-down properties towards the lower end of Kirkgate will, it is hoped, lead to their full restoration, refurbishment and reuse – but, crucially, should also facilitate the reopening of the currently-closed road.
A section of Kirkgate has been closed to traffic since one of the historic privately-owned buildings – number 85 – suffered a partial collapse in April this year.
The appearance of number 85 and its neighbours had already become a long-standing issue during a period when grants provided through the council’s Lower Kirkgate Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) scheme have driven a huge amount of regeneration activity elsewhere on the city centre street.
The council has been unable to formally agree terms with the owner of the dilapidated buildings – a company called City Fusion – for the award of THI grant support for improvement work on these properties.
Now, mindful of the negative impact that the current situation is having on the area, the council is intending to take two separate courses of action. These are:
- The issuing of an urgent works notice – by the council in its capacity as the local planning authority for Leeds – in relation to the City Fusion properties on Kirkgate that are most at risk of collapse or further serious deterioration. The notice would give the council the right to carry out emergency structural work before recovering the cost of doing so from City Fusion. Once this work has taken place, then the traffic restrictions on Kirkgate would be lifted.
- The proposed market-value acquisition by the council of seven City Fusion properties so they could, in the longer term, be restored and refurbished for uses that would maximise their potential as heritage assets and complement the other improvements on Kirkgate that have been made through the THI scheme.
Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and sustainable development, said: “Kirkgate has undergone a huge transformation over the last decade and we’re proud of the part we have played in making it a vibrant hub for independent businesses.
“We also recognise, however, that the poor condition of a number of local buildings – as well as the current road closure – is having a detrimental impact on the area and our ambitions for its comprehensive regeneration.
“It is our hope that, by stepping in and taking ownership of the situation, we will be able to facilitate the reopening of the road and, separately, give these problem properties a new lease of life.
“We thank businesses and residents for their patience and would like to assure them that the steps now being taken are a sign of our steadfast commitment to the ongoing success of Kirkgate.
“This is a street with real historical significance, and our efforts to ensure it has an equally bright future are the perfect illustration of the vital role that heritage plays in regeneration activity.”
The Lower Kirkgate THI scheme was launched in 2013 to drive heritage-led regeneration in the area, using funding from the council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund as well as leveraged private sector investment.
Subsequent improvement work has seen a number of properties restored, including the Grade II-listed First White Cloth Hall. The street has also been fundamentally redesigned, with the widening of footpaths and the planting of trees creating an attractive setting for businesses and other buildings.
The changes on Kirkgate complement substantial recent investments in public realm and highways infrastructure across an area known as the Corn Exchange Gateway, which includes roads such as Call Lane, Bridge End, Lower Briggate, New Market Street and Duncan Street.
