Whitehall Riverside: Construction on controversial 500-home tower blocks set to begin in Leeds city centre
Work is set to begin on two controversial city centre tower blocks as a contractor has been chosen for the £140m project.
The 500 new riverside apartments were narrowly approved by Leeds City Council in December, but concerns were raised during the meeting about how “cohesive” the community would be. There have also been objections from neighbouring flats about overshadowing and traffic.
However, it was announced this week that construction company Bowmer and Kirkland had been appointed to build the scheme. The project is being delivered by developer Glenbrook and backed by finance company Legal and General in what is Leeds’ largest build-to-rent funding deal.
Glenbrook has built more than 1,500 homes over the last decade. The new Whitehall Riverside scheme is the developer’s first in Leeds, with a further 618 homes earmarked for Kirkstall Road later this year.
Danny Roberts, development director at Glenbrook, said that it was vital the developer had the “best-in-class contractor in place”. Paul Sykes, regional director at Bowmer and Kirkland said that he was “delighted” to be involved in delivering “an outstanding development”.
The project team also includes Sheppard Robson, Curtins, Abacus, Re-form, Crookes Walker Consulting.