Rotherham Council’s Cabinet is set to approve the use of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) to acquire the burnt-out buildings on Corporation Street in Rotherham town centre.

York-based property company Grantside has purchased a prime building in Harrogate town centre which includes retail units and a development opportunity to transform the upper floors into apartments. The 10,000 sq ft Cambridge Street building is in the heart of Harrogate’s thriving town centre and is very close to the railway station. Current occupiers of the ground floor shop space include Card Factory, jewellers Fogal and Barnes, and Phone Patch, with one unit currently vacant. Planning permission has been granted to convert the upper floors into five new apartments. Steve Davis, CEO of Grantside, said: “This is a great opportunity and a brilliant location – in the heart of Harrogate town centre. Our vision for the building is to bring it back into full use through the conversion of the upper floors into apartments, which will be used as holiday accommodation and help the town’s economy.” On behalf of Grantside, Knights plc acted as legal advisers and BHT was the property agent on the purchase.

The Parkway, Barnsley’s independent cinema, looks forward to an exciting new chapter, thanks to national funding, that will give the family-run business a whole new look. A Heritage grant of £123k has been awarded to the cinema by the Eldon Street High Street Heritage Action Zone (which is jointly funded by Barnsley Council and Historic England). The grant will enable exciting renovation works, improving the frontage and reinstating the 1950s style illuminated cinema signage. Conservation work will start in January 2023 and is due to be completed by the middle of March. The refurbishment is one of the first construction projects to take place as part of the Eldon Street High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ), a scheme which will transform the historic street and bring to life stories of its past. An important part of Barnsley’s cultural offer, The Parkway is one of only a handful of cinemas in the country to still show 35mm and 70mm film, offering unique experiences in a historical setting, alongside current digital cinema presentations. Eldon Street has a long and fascinating history with film. Some of the earliest moving pictures were shown at the Public Hall (now the Civic) from the early 1900s, and there has been a cinema on the Parkway site for over 100 years. The Empire Palace of Varieties Theatre opened on 8 June 1908 and was later converted into the Empire Super Cinema, opening on 22 March 1920. Sound was installed in 1929, and the first ‘talkie’ was shown in November of that year. The cinema was renamed the Gaumont in 1950. Sadly, a huge fire destroyed the building in January 1954. However, this led to a new cinema being constructed, and the current building opened as the new Gaumont in 1956. The cinema was renamed the Odeon in 1962. It closed in 2005, reopening as the Parkway independent cinema on 8 August 2007. The building was put up for sale in 2022, putting the future of the cinema at risk. However, the two families that operate The Parkway were eventually able to buy the property thus safeguarding independent cinema in Barnsley for the foreseeable future. Councillor Robert Frost, cabinet spokesperson for regeneration and culture, said: “Cinema is such an important part of Eldon Street’s history, and it is wonderful that we can support local businesses in this way through the Eldon Street Action Zone. The refurbishments will not only improve the visitor experience and look of the street, but it will also reflect on The Parkway’s deep connections to film and to Barnsley town centre.” Rob Younger, Managing Director of the Parkway Cinema, said: “I’m delighted that we have managed to attract this funding, which will really smarten up the frontage of the cinema and restore some of the features that many people will remember. We faced a difficult decision just a few months ago when the former landlord decided to sell the property, but buying it has opened up many avenues, including this one. Working with the HAZ team is an absolute pleasure and we are so grateful for the help and support that we have received.” Richard Butterfield from Historic England said: “We’re really pleased to be funding the renovation of the cinema as part of the High Street Heritage Action Zone. The building has been a cultural landmark in Barnsley for a century and this project will help secure its future as a leisure attraction.”

Yorkshire property development and investment company Sterling Capitol has sold two prime office assets at Capitol Park, Leeds. The value of the two transactions has not been disclosed. The first asset was the 4,862 sq ft 1 Sterling Way, occupied by Create Fertility, let on a new 10-year lease, bought by Assura PLC, a specialist healthcare investor. The second was 2 Sterling Court, the 7,000 sq ft home of Ideal Boilers, recently regeared on a 10-year lease and acquired by Real Estate Investment Group, a family-owned property company with diversified portfolio across a number of different sectors and asset classes. The two deals were brokered by the Leeds office of global property consultancy Knight Frank. Tom Brown, senior development surveyor at Sterling Capitol, explained: “We let and regeared the two properties in early 2022 to make the two investments as attractive as possible. We were delighted that we achieved in excess of our business plan valuations which shows there is still strong sentiment in the market for quality assets occupied by high calibre tenants. “These two deals are part of our strategy of selling our non-core assets. Upon the successful execution of our business plan, Sterling’s strategy is to focus on the identification, promotion and development of strategic employment land along prime motorway junctions across Yorkshire and the North East. “We have some extremely exciting plans in the pipeline, which will create much-needed business space and jobs for the region.” In particular, Sterling Capitol has recently been given the go ahead by Leeds City Council to develop more than one million sq ft of employment land in Leeds, which will create 2,000 jobs. The site is adjacent to Capitol Park Leeds, by Junction 28 of the M62. The high-profile development, featuring high-specification logistics and advanced manufacturing units, will be partly speculatively developed in conjunction with developers PLP. Capitol Park is home to a number of high-profile occupiers, including Hermes, Barratt Homes, the Village Hotel and Depuy, as well as Create Fertility and Ideal Heating. Corinne Travis of Knight Frank, who advised Sterling Capitol, said: “It is fitting that two of the most significant out-of-town sales at the end of last year (2022) took place at Capitol Park, Leeds, one of the first – and best – business parks in the county, capturing the conurbations of both Leeds and Wakefield.” She added: “Sterling Capitol have a fantastic track record of developing quality business parks in strategic locations in Yorkshire. These two deals are a testament to the company’s achievement.”

Dean Clough in Halifax has secured a deal to let an 8,146 sq ft space on a 15-year lease to a fast-growing gymnastics club. [jim-nas-tiks] is the latest new occupier to take space at Dean Clough, further expanding its mixed-use proposition that already combines office space and retail/leisure amenities with diverse arts and cultural attractions. Formerly known as Matt’s Gym Club which operated at Trinity Academy in Halifax, [jim-nas-tiks] was evolved following the pandemic lock down by former Great Britain Gymnast and national number two Matthew Brooks and his wife Kirsty. With 560 existing members, the new space will allow further growth with the very latest Olympic standard equipment and expert tuition. The concept of [jim-nas-tiks] is focused around providing non-competitive physical activity to allow young people to thrive and improve their self-esteem, happiness, and confidence.  The name itself relates to how children would spell by phonics and the brand positioning uses stick people to demonstrate activities. The deal has been made possible thanks to the flexibility of the landlord, Dean Clough Limited, which has shared the £150,000 fit out costs with Matthew and Kirsty.  The listed building, which required planning consent for change of use had been unused for a number of years. Major works include structural alterations, new access routes to car parking, external fascia cleaning and significant internal installations including a new split-level floor. Matthew Brooks said: “Never in our dreams could we have imagined being able to secure a space in such an established place within a vibrant community.  The fact that the landlord has offered great flexibility, and even shared the costs for fit out, shows that they are also invested in making our venture a success and can see the value of our offer to the existing Dean Clough community. Jeremy Hall, Chairman and MD at Dean Clough Ltd, said: “Whilst much of our space has been transformed to offer high quality workspace of various sizes and flexible terms, we are always mindful of providing a good balance of amenity for not just our occupiers, but also the wider Halifax community. “This is the second deal in as many weeks at Dean Clough as the UK largest online florist Prestige Gifting, agreed a deal to expand its headquarters into a fantastic new 9,677 space here. We have also welcomed six small business occupiers in recent months with nearly 10,000 sq ft of space under offer.”