Headrow House co-living set for Leeds green light
Watkin Jones is looking to convert the former Direct Line offices, while the city plans panel will also give pre-application guidance for a further 200,000 sq ft office building at Wellington Place.
Leeds City Council’s city plans panel meets on 7 October to give a verdict on the Watkin Jones proposal, for which the recommendation is that authority is deferred and delegated to the chief planning officer to approve, subject to a list of conditions.
Chief among these is a commuted sum of £2.45m in lieu of on-site provision of affordable homes.
The development primarily involves the conversion of the office space above ground floor level of Headrow House, at 42 The Headrow, into 230 co-living studios, a proposal that went before the panel for pre-application consideration in July.
Swap Architects and Turley head the professional team.
The offices were vacated by Direct Line in August 2021 and have been vacant since. Still a relatively new model in most regional cities, co-living essentially means a more efficient use of space in city centre buildings, in that residents share amenities.
According to the officers’ report, the average size of the proposed studios within the Headrow House development would be 306.66 sq ft, with the facility including 19 shared kitchens; 8,500 sq ft of shared internal amenity space laid out as lounge areas, private dining, co-working space, a social hub, library, study areas and laundries.
There would also be storage facilities and a gym, along with two residents’ roof gardens and bike storage.
The 10-storey Headrow House, completed in 1955, sits at the junction with Albion Street. Watkin Jones’ proposals can be viewed on Leeds’ planning portal with the reference 22/07525/FU.
Leeds Civic Trust has given the scheme its support. Director Martin Hamilton said: “Leeds Civic Trust supports re-use and adaptation as a means of bringing new life to buildings and the carbon savings that result. We support this proposal for Headrow House which for the first time brings co-living into the city centre.
“This type of dwelling is particularly suitable for graduates and could play a role in retaining key skills in Leeds providing quality accommodation with shared communal and outdoor spaces. From the earliest discussions we had with the developer Watkin Jones, we could see the benefits of this scheme and were able to give it our support.”
This would be Watkin Jones’ third co-living scheme, following projects in Bristol and Exeter. Flexible tenancies are available at such buildings,
Iain Smith, planning director at Watkin Jones, said: “We have been strongly encouraged by the support that we have received for our Headrow House co-living plans, including that of Leeds Civic Trust and local businesses. Co-living will address an important residential need in Leeds, helping to retain more graduates and young professionals in the city. And as a building refurbishment, we will also deliver huge carbon savings which is in line with our strong ESG credentials to minimise environmental impacts on all our schemes.
“As a direct result of feedback from members and planning officers, we have made a number of improvements to the scheme including increasing the room sizes and the internal and external communal space – and are grateful for the positive recommendation from planning officers for our application.
Hermes’ latest proposals for Wellington Place, which has become the go-to business quarter in the city over the last 20 years, will be considered by the panel, ahead of determination at a later date.
With the latest building, 11&12 Wellington Place, fully occupied within a year of completion, the developer is keen to press on.
This would effectively be the third building in the second phase of Wellington Place, and would include reception and business lounge space at ground floor level. Forty parking spaces at basement level are proposed, with the design team seeking the NABERS and Fitwell accreditations achieved by the 11&12 building.
