The fate of local a landmark, the tower and spire of St Mary’s church in Hunslet, is a little more secure following a public meeting held last week (14 April 2026) by the Diocese of Leeds who own the structure.
They revealed that they have received an approach from a property developer with local connections who wants to buy and save the spire. Full details are not available at this stage, but the plan would be to build apartments on the footprint of the former church building. This new structure would provide support to the tower, a Grade II listed building.
The sale will include requirements to maintain access to St Mary’s CE Primary Academy and to the former vicarage, as well as the war memorial and interred ashes.
The meeting was part of the Church of England’s formal process to sell the land. The consultation remains open until Friday 1 May, full details here.
If the sale goes ahead, the developer will have to go through the planning process with Leeds City Council as usual. It is understood that they will begin pre-application discussions with planning officers shortly.
The spire, the tallest in Leeds, is part of a church built in 1864 on the site of an older chapel. The body of the church was demolished with a new building erected in 1975. Unfortunately, this building suffered structural problems and was itself demolished in 2019.
A draft plan was brought forward in 2020 by Leeds City Council, but this proved financially unviable.
Hunslet Carr Residents Association who attended the meeting commented:
“This is the first positive news in two years since the site was put up for sale. The scheme will safeguard the iconic tower and spire and bring the clock back into use along with providing additional accommodation.
“Although this is welcome news and we support the initial plans, we understand this is only the beginning of a long process of consultations and planning which may take some time.”
Photo: Jeremy Morton
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