Leeds has seen some extensive development in recent years in and around the city centre, with major new residential and commercial developments in both the historic city centre and, increasingly, the ‘south bank’ across the River Aire.
Among the latest developments in the pipeline is Hub residential’s Platinum Blue project, which will see 488 apartments being established in towers of 26 and 31 storeys respectively on Whitehall Road on the western edge of the city centre. An £82 million contract has just been awarded to RG Group to construct the towers.
The arrival of buildings of this kind will invariably raise the issue of neighbourly matters. Liaising with those who already live in an area where a development is planned is important to try to gain support and understanding, not least as there may be concerns about traffic, noise from the construction and possible objections to the impact of large new buildings on light or air quality.
Such concerns can often be raised when major city centre developments are taking place on a large scale. Even across the Pennines in Manchester, where new skyscrapers seemingly appear every week, this can be a thorny subject at times.
For instance, in 2016, in a moment of great irony, residents of the 554 ft Beetham Tower, then the tallest in the city, raised objections to an even taller building nearby. At the time the Beetham Tower was only ten years old itself.
As it happened, the tower in question, the 659 ft Deansgate Square Tower A, did indeed rise up to become the loftiest in Manchester, with a growing cluster of other skyscrapers around it.
It remains to be seen whether there will be further delicate issues in this area of the city centre as developer Renaker recently unveiled plans to go even higher with a 700 ft tall, 71 storey building.
Leeds has yet to build anything that high, but it may be only a matter of time before there too, neighbourly matters become tricky in places and people living in shiny glass towers seek to throw stones at planned new developments.
