Councillors on the City Plans Panel approved planning permission for the first residential blocks at Aire Park, the development on the former Tetley brewery site, at the meeting on 13 March 2025.
This was a ‘reserved matters’ application looking at the detailed plans, following ‘outline planning approval’ covering the entire site had being granted in 2018, as we reported at the time.
The plans give details of seven blocks to be built on two plots at the north east edge of the site bounded by Crown Point Road and Bowman Lane.
The accommodation comprises 418 apartments, including 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments. The blocks range in height from 7 up to 15 storeys, these are lower than those allowed for in the outline permission.
The area around the blocks will be crossed by publicly accessible footpaths and a service road. Each plot will have courtyards including children’s play areas, grassed lawns and a number of private spaces for residents only.
Most of the properties will be for private rental, but one of the blocks, comprising 44 apartments, 29 1-bed, 7 2-bed and 8 3-bed, will be given over to ‘affordable housing’. This represents a slightly higher percentage than conditioned in the outline approval. The meeting heard that Vastint, the developers, are looking for a housing association to manage the block.
The plans were widely welcomed by councillors and there was little discussion, although Cllr Colin Campbell (Liberal Democrat, Otley & Yeadon) echoed the few public comments that felt that the plans were not bold enough.
“It strikes me … that there’s a lot of red brick there. It’s boring quite frankly.” He said.
“I appreciate it’s part of a very large site, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to feel that if I … cycled down the road I wouldn’t feel that this is a really nice building, a building we can be proud of.”
Despite these comments, the application was approved unanimously.
You can read the report to the panel here; view the presentation slides here; and watch a recording of the meeting here.
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