Asda have lost their latest court battle to stop the redevelopment of the Benyon House site in Middleton.
Plans for a new retail park on the site including new B&M and Lidl stores were approved by Leeds City Council in April 2019. As we reported at the time, Councillors on the South & West Plans Panel went against officers’ recommendations to reject the scheme on the grounds that it would have a detrimental impact on Middleton’s District Shopping Centre.
Asda took the Council to court, claiming the decision was unlawful as it ran counter to national planning guidance.
They lost in the High Court and have now lost in the Court of Appeal where Judge Lord Justice Sir Keith Lindblom ruled that Leeds City Council had made an “entirely lawful decision.” It is not clear if they will persue the case to the Supreme Court.
Developers Commercial Development Projects first applied for planning permission on the site in 2016, but were refused. They applied again with a modified scheme in February 2018 and permission was finally granted in April 2019.
The scheme will provide a new home for B&M’s Middleton store which will move from the District Centre. Planning Officers had reported that B&M accounted for 42% of turnover at the district centre, and cited the economic damage moving would do to the district centre as the reason to reject the planning application.
But B&M had made it clear that they would close their Middleton store if the new retail park wasn’t built, saying their current premises were not fit for purpose.
In a statement, Middleton Park Councillors Judith Blake, Paul Truswell and Kim Groves said:
“We welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to reject Asda’s case against the redevelopment of the Benyon House site.
“It is very positive news and will now allow the new retail centre to be built which will help create much needed jobs for people in Middleton.”
The site was formerly used as a bus garage and then as the head office and warehousing for the Co-op in Leeds, before being demolished in 2014. It has remained empty since then.
I’d rather leave the site as it is than have more shops, traffic and the rubbish that will be generated
To be hoped that they have a good traffic management plan for the proposed development. That roundabout can be a bit dicey as it is with some drivers not knowing how to use it at the best of times without the extra traffic using it to access and exit the new development. I get the feeling that Asda are actually more concerned about the potential loss of business to the proposed Lidl than the decline of the Miggy Centre!
I agree the roundabout can be awful for traffic plus it’s near the route into the Middleton recycling centre as well
This development will improve the area greatly. It is long overdue.
I have been not quite born but bread Middleton all my life and seen the changes happen…. Like presto, I used to come home from high school by bus and then buy a fresh loaf of bread (still warm from bakery) Then its decline to be sold to co-op supermarket with a greggs inside… That failed and then Iceland and kwick save come along only for kwick save to fail and unit to become a sommerfield which co-op bought and then that failed to become a b and m store. (Is there a track record of failures for that unit) I also notice that only original store from beginning was Wynsors shoes store. (Which is correctly addressed as Middleton District centre, Middleton, Leeds but b and m is not as they claim to be in belle Isle, Leeds. Which is incorrect) ANYWAY I would have liked the benjon centre site(Middleton metro bus garage site) to have become Middleton market. An indoor market like Morley Market with a localised police station attached, with local cells in for short term detention. Because Rothwell police station just a detached house and not open to public. My mum was born on town Street when it was farm land so I have every right to comment on future of place. I am against a retail park on site. There is a perfectly good b and m selling beds and homewards at Hunslet which is a very big unit. A lot of people from area go to MORRISONS supermarket. I was against ASDA building a store here because it would have been better as a tesco superstore. Like Seacroft. Better hours for jobs. We know that ASDA only got it because they said that they would put a petrol garage in. Fools…. It was a card only petrol garage. It needed to be a proper 24 hour shop petrol garage, staffed. As nearest ones on dewsbury road. Not everyone got a car. A retail park is not needed in area. What we do need is council social housing for people from that area, not foreigners with big families. Seen it happen. We do not want affordable buy house housing, we WHANT rented housing. (I have to point out that I am not racist in my views, just sick of seeing foreigners getting housing above locals who have been from that area for generations)…..
I was also born on Town Street, Middleton just probably a while later than you (‘93) and can tell you adding retail units will improve this area massively. People don’t go to bakery’s and markets anymore, it’s not 1965, they would be nice but simply unused by the majority. It’s a tired, scruffy area along with the precinct Wynsors is in and both need something doing. Also a petrol station was definitely needed at Asda as Middleton only had 1 prior (the closest wasn’t Dewsbury road but the Texaco garage on Middleton Park Road). Agree with you about a small police complex there though, that would also improve the general behaviour in the area.
Should do another bus depot that’s what it was in the 1st place
It will. Be great a new shopping centre more choices for people to shop at whatever makes more jobs for people am all for it coz there’s a lot of people out of work at the moment
Great cant wait to be stuck in more conjested traffic on my way home from work to add to the 180 houses being built on throstle road the new school off towcaster avenue Thorpe Lane is going to be an absolute nightmare council might think about mending the road before more hgvs tractors etc come thundering down it. Alan its NOT racist to tell the truth councillors are in denial