Allied London announces plans for The Canary, a new modern waterside bar and restaurant, overlooking Leeds Dock in Hunslet.
The award-winning developer has created the new concept following Channel 4’s decision to take Dock 29, close to the Royal Armouries museum, for the production of its new daily daytime news programme, the Steph Show.
The contemporary-look bar and restaurant, which recognises the dock’s industrial revolution beginnings, is built from a series of shipping containers, with construction planned to commence in mid-July, and the venue set for an autumn 2020 launch.
The latest hospitality offering will be painted in an eye-catching canary yellow and black colour scheme, and takes inspiration for its name from the canary bird, which was used to warn miners of the dangers down in the coal pits. The modern bar will also nod to Leeds Dock’s past within its design, as it was originally built to take coal brought on the canal systems into the city centre to support the industrial revolution.
The new building will cantilever over the canal, and has an internal area of 2,250 sq ft, topped with a 1,000 sq ft covered roof terrace, which also benefits from a first floor bar, to take in the beautiful views over the water.
Allied London has selected WePop as its operating partner for the new venue, following conversations with several operators.
The Canary House will offer craft beers, cocktails and fizz alongside a carefully curated menu of hot and cold food dishes. Leeds’ latest must-visit bar is planning a comprehensive food and drink menu from local Yorkshire-based suppliers and beyond.
Michael Ingall, CEO of Allied London, said:
“We are constantly evolving and improving the Leeds Dock development and are pleased to add The Canary to our leisure and hospitality roster. To establish Leeds Dock as the digital and media destination for businesses in Yorkshire, we must continue investing in the area and its facilities – we aim to do just that with The Canary.
“The canary bird will be a modern bar but also take ques from the story of coal, the dock’s inception and Yorkshire’s history. We aim to bring the best in Yorkshire food and drink to the dock, as well as offering best-loved favourites. As businesses get back on their feet post-COVID, we want to give them even more reason to relax and socialise in the area.
“We are thrilled that Channel 4 has made the decision to host their newest daytime television show here, marking Leeds Dock as a national media and digital destination. We must also keep moving and replace the great Dock 29 with an even better food and beverage offering for the dock’s residents and workforce.”
The Leeds city centre enterprise village and community is home to more than 1,800 residents and has an on-site workforce of over 2,000 people. Leeds Dock houses some of the region’s most exciting tech, media and digital businesses.
The Canary will join the on-site coffee roastery and cafe, gym, fitness centre and yoga studio.
This post is based on a press release issued on behalf of Leeds Dock
For clarity – this development has not yet received planning permission. The press release I’m sorry to say is rather premature and should at least be clear this is a concept. Though I have no overriding objections to this development, both I and the Environmental Protection Team have asked for modifications to it to make the proposal acceptable to prevent a nuisance (mainly noise) to local resident, and several residents have objected outright.
The area floods too
The area is protected by the lock and even with awful rain earlier this year did not flood.
It’s an eye sore