Senior councillors in Leeds will be asked to approve a plan this week to guide all future development in the Aire Valley area of the city being put forward for government examination.
The Aire Valley Leeds Area Action Plan, which covers 1,300 hectares of land to the south east of Leeds city centre including Hunslet and Stourton, the so-called ‘South Bank’ and Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone, is now ready to be submitted to government after a detailed process which began in 2005.
The area adjoins Holbeck, Beeston, Hunslet, Belle Isle and Middleton and it is hoped that development will boost job opportunities for these communities.
The plan has been prepared and refined with the involvement of local communities, businesses, councillors and stakeholders as well as three rounds of public consultation, and is now ready for the council’s executive board to discuss at Civic Hall on Wednesday 27 July. The recommendation to the board is to approve the proposal for the full council to then consider and if full council also gives approval it would then be formally presented to the government for examination by an independent inspector.
The plan would guide all future development in the area up to 2028 including new housing, job creation, economic development, regeneration, green spaces, schools, community and leisure facilities and improved transport links to connect the area to the city centre and surrounding communities.
It identifies over 400 hectares of mostly previously developed sites, providing up to 7,950 new homes and 250 hectares for future employment use.
The Aire Valley Leeds Area Action Plan sits alongside the Site Allocations Plan, which has also been developed identifying specific sites and locations in the rest of the city which have the potential to be used for new housing, employment, retail and green space. Together these documents aim to deliver the requirements of the overall Core Strategy for Leeds up to 2028, including the key provision of 70,000 new homes in the city.
Leeds City Council executive member for regeneration, transport and planning Councillor Richard Lewis said:
“We are delighted that after years of discussion, development and refining this important plan for the Aire Valley is now ready to go before full council and then on to the government for examination.
“The Aire Valley is hugely important for the future economic growth of Leeds and the wider city region, and that has already started to be shown by the businesses and investors flocking to the Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone and South Bank Leeds, two key strategic areas with incredible potential for regeneration and growth to create thousands of new jobs and houses as well as being attractive places to learn and visit.
“It is our responsibility as a city to ensure this development is carried out in the right way, connecting people with jobs and with the existing communities nearby, as well as linking the Aire Valley with the rest of Leeds so everyone can benefit from its success. We are confident this plan now meets that ambition.”
