Lower Kirkgate: Leeds Council to carry out 16-week stabilisation work after building collapse last April

A row of derelict privately-owned buildings on Lower Kirkgate has been cordoned off for safety reasons – and the road closed to traffic – since one of the properties suffered a partial collapse in April last year.

Leeds City Council is intending to carry out a 16-week programme of stabilisation work on the buildings after their current owners – two linked companies called City Fusion and Kirkgate Land Residential – failed to take the necessary steps to make them safe. It will then seek to recover the cost of this work from the companies.

The council is separately seeking to acquire the properties with a view to them being fully restored and brought back into meaningful long-term use, complementing the regeneration activity that has been successfully delivered elsewhere on Lower Kirkgate.

Coun Jonathan Pryor said: “The situation on Lower Kirkgate is a complex one and clearly remains a major source of frustration and concern for local residents and businesses.

“We are determined to find a solution to the issues affecting this historic street, where important heritage assets have been allowed to fall into a serious state of disrepair. It should be stressed that, at the current moment in time, the at-risk buildings are not owned by the council.”

Now a new report – due to be considered at a meeting of the council’s executive board next Wednesday (July 16) – has set out how these parallel courses of action are proceeding and confirmed that the council is continuing negotiations over the proposed purchase of the properties.

It also confirms that a market value offer – based on an independent valuation undertaken in line with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ Red Book Global Standards framework – for the buildings has been made by the council but to date this has not been accepted.

Next week’s executive board meeting will be asked to approve the development of a case for the potential compulsory purchase of the buildings. This would only be pursued as a tool of last resort if a negotiated sale cannot be agreed and no other options remain available that would enable the full restoration.

Coun Pryor added: “We are acutely aware of the need to protect the 18th and 19th-century fabric of Lower Kirkgate.

“It is against this backdrop that we are continuing to pursue the separate but parallel courses of action outlined in the report to next week’s executive board meeting.”

If you’d like to receive more stories like this as well as the latest news from Leeds, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

Any formal decision – or resolution – on the use of compulsory purchase powers would be reserved until a future and as-yet unspecified meeting of executive board. The report also confirms that the council hopes to be in a position to complete its 16-week programme of stabilisation work on the buildings by the end of 2025.

With detailed designs for this work close to being finalised, it is anticipated that a start on site should be possible during August.

An update on plans for the reopening of the road after the work has been completed will be provided in due course.