Dudleys Consulting Engineers will assess the last two remaining buildings for redevelopment at the Sunny Bank Mills regeneration site in the Farsley area of Leeds.

The company will advise on the Structural and Civil design plans to support the redevelopment of the former 3,000 sq ft Dye House and the 2,500 sq ft Boiler House to enable refurbishment into modern, mixed-use accommodation.

Sunny Bank Mills is a collection of historic buildings, forming the community heart of Farsley town in Leeds. The site was founded in 1829 by a group of weavers to become one of the world’s most important fine worsted mills. Over the last ten years, considerable investment has been made by sixth generation family owners William and John Gaunt to regenerate the site to become a modern mixed-use complex and cultural hub where over 350 sustainable jobs have been created so far.  As well as flexible space for businesses, it includes a heritage museum, art gallery and spaces for events and exhibitions. Sunny Bank Mills prominence as a cultural hub continues to grow further having featured in numerous film, TV and radio events.

Dudleys has been retained as consulting engineers for the duration of redevelopment spanning over ten years, during which time numerous buildings have been refurbished on the 4.5-hectare site.

Peter Dixon, Director at Dudleys, said: “The site is of considerable heritage value and so we must always seek to maximise the potential to retain as much of the old as well as incorporating the new.

“For all of the once-derelict and dilapidated buildings we have managed to safely retain the substantial core as well as the historic buildings’ fabric to preserve the industrial setting within more contemporary elements to deliver some characterful spaces that are now thriving.”

John Gaunt of Sunny Bank Mills, said: “The story of Sunny Bank Mills is of considerable note, not just for Leeds but for the UK as the world leader in textile manufacturing.  Since the value of weaving was lost, we have worked tirelessly to sympathetically regenerate the site for modern day use and maintain its employment potential.”

“We have worked with Dudleys for the entire redevelopment process, and they have proved to be an invaluable partner throughout. We are delighted to appoint the team to advise us on the potential of our last remaining buildings.”

In May UKREiiF was hosted in Leeds for the second year running – bringing over 7,500 people from across the UK and internationally to the city region, and a new report by ARUP has revealed it gave a £12.1m boost to the local Leeds City Region economy. The event, which brings together investors, developers, local authorities and the wider real estate and infrastructure sectors looks to facilitate and connect businesses to drive sustainable and inclusive regeneration – but outside of the major deals and projects which take place from the conversations at UKREiiF there is also a huge benefit to the region with the event bringing fresh eyes to the city. ARUP calculated the figure by working closely with event organisers UKREiiF to use data sources on delegates, location of travel, nights in the city region and more, in addition to data from Visit Britain, Visit Leeds and the STEAM Tourism Economic Impact model. The direct economic impact looks at organiser spend, visitor spend and fringe event organisation spend, with visitor spend looking at areas such as accommodation, food and drink, shopping, local travel, evening events and entertainment, sightseeing and more. The Deloitte and Oxford Economics Multiplier Model was then utilised to capture the proportion of money then injected back into the local economy. Some of the key highlights from the report include: 1. 75% of event delegates enjoyed at least one overnight stay in the region, with 55% spending at least two overnight stays. 2. This lead to 11,663 bed nights being taken in local hotels 3. £4.5m in visitor spend including food/drink, accommodation, shopping and entertainment 4. £7,177,040 of direct economic impact 5. £12,078,958 total wider economic impact 6. Huge increase on the £5,500,000 generated in the inaugural year meaning UKREiiF has generated £17,600,000 for the local economy in the space of two years Speaking of the announcement Keith Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer at UKREiiF, said: “UKREiiF created a real buzz across the city region with hotel occupancy at 100% and bars and restaurants seeing a huge increase on usual midweek trade, and this year the local businesses really got behind the event which saw bars and restaurants open later and really help to amplify the total from £5,500,000 in the first year to over £12,000,000 in the second. “We also worked closely with the likes of Leeds City Council to showcase the city region in advance which has helped boost visit stays with some staying for more than 5 days in the region to add tourist days either side, and we’re looking forward to working even more with the Council and the Business Improvement District to build on this for 2024. “And it’s worth saying that this economic impact just looks at the local level of visitors and spend – UKREiiF showcases over £100bn of investment opportunities across the UK and the deals and projects which are secured and signed from UKREiiF mean the event has become a real staple in the industry diary and one which is set to have an even bigger economic impact across the wider country.”

Joint venture partners Cole Waterhouse and Tonia Investments have secured a significant amended planning consent for Leeds Urban Village, a £185 million mixed-use, residential led scheme in the East of Leeds city centre. The partnership acquired the 3.8-acre site in May 2022 with full detailed planning permission for 1,012 apartments across five towers with commercial space on the ground floor. Following the purchase, Leeds-based DLG Architects and landscape specialists Exterior Architects were appointed to review the scheme design with a focus on enhanced placemaking and a significant review of its wind mitigation features. Having worked closely with a range of stakeholders through the summer including Leeds City Council, a Section 73 Minor Material Amendment Application was submitted in December 2023. The planning approval will mean there are wholesale changes to the building’s elevational and public realm design. Wind mitigation measures have also been substantially improved through changes to the towers’ form and massing. Leeds Urban Village will deliver 1,012 residential apartments across five towers ranging from 13-23 storeys and will include 478 BTR apartments. The ground floor spaces will accommodate retail, food and beverage as well as a considered range of resident amenities such as a shared pantry, cinema, gym and a ‘library of things’ – appliances and useful equipment for people to borrow. The public realm, designed by Exterior Architecture, includes features such as a climbing wall and spaces for active play, whilst a large central hub offers opportunities for events, markets and gatherings. The development is targeting Fitwel rating – the world’s leading healthy building design accreditor – and has considered occupant wellbeing and health from the outset of design. In addition, a new cycle hub within the public realm is proposed with direct platform lift access to basement parking and a range of high-quality cycle welfare facilities. Speaking about the scheme, George Smith, planning manager at Cole Waterhouse, said: “These design enhancements will ensure that Leeds Urban Village is a desirable new urban neighbourhood and a cultural destination in itself, designed to meet and exceed people’s expectations now and in the future. “Located in the heart of Leeds city centre with both the West Yorkshire Playhouse and Great Northern Ballet nearby, we have looked at how we best build on the surrounding cultural offer to deliver a vibrant and meaningful placemaking strategy to strengthen further our engagement with the cultural and creative community in Leeds as our vision for the site develops.” George continued: “We have been working with Colliers to secure development funding and also working on the appointment of a main contractor. We are aiming to start on site in Q2 2024 to deliver the first phases of much needed Built-to-Rent homes for the city of Leeds.”

The future of heritage buildings in the heart of Bradford are being explored in plans for Heritage Action Zone status. Bradford Council has been awarded £50,000 by Historic England to develop detailed proposals for a Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) in the city centre. The area surrounding City Hall, as well as Kirkgate, Hustlergate and Market Street are under consideration, which, if adopted, will provide grants to property owners to bring back into use empty and underused floorspace in some of the city’s ‘at risk’ heritage buildings. This will be complemented by proposals to increase public access to City Hall, so more people can see this landmark building for themselves, along with the historic artefacts and photography on display. Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “We welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with Historic England to develop detailed proposals for Heritage Action Zone Status in this historic part of the city centre. “This is an exciting opportunity to find new and sustainable uses for our historic buildings, as well as potentially enabling improved access to City Hall, our core civic building, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. “The amount of quality heritage buildings here in Bradford is breath-taking. We are looking to the future, with City of Culture 2025 approaching, plus the massive programme of regeneration that will take place in the city, but this is always in harmony with our history.” Richard Butterfield, Historic England’s partnerships team leader, said: “Bradford City Centre Conservation Area has an impressive array of grand Victorian buildings and a historic street pattern which goes back to the middle ages. “This project development funding will enable the heritage to be better understood and inform plans to unlock its potential. We are delighted to be taking this initiative forward with Bradford Council and the City of Culture team.” Work on the proposal will involve data collection, analysis and consultation with owners and key stakeholders how best to financially support property owners, developers and investors to make use of vacant or underused floorspace in the city’s heritage buildings. Proposals for a HAZ in Bradford city centre will also explore how cultural events can be used to increase understanding of local heritage, raise awareness of buildings potentially at risk and to look at possible uses for buildings driven by the current market. The Council will complete the work to develop a detailed proposal for the HAZ by February 2024.

A regeneration project for a historic building in Whitefriargate has received a huge boost thanks to significant grant funding. Trinity House Charity, part of Hull Trinity House, has been awarded £198,171 from the Levelling Up Fund (LUF) and a further £56,620 funding through the Whitefriargate High Street Heritage Action Zone. The LUF is funded through monies awarded to Hull City Council in 2021 by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The funding is for the conversion of redundant, vacant offices at Custom House Building to the rear of 13-14 Whitefriargate. The project will see the creation of three one-bed apartments, following planning approval being finalised. Proposed works include a full re-roof of the property, internal refurbishment, upgraded electrical supply and structural and window repairs. There will also be refurbishment of existing historic architectural features and new gates under an adjacent archway to incorporate a pedestrian access control system. Cllr Paul Drake-Davis, Hull City Council’s portfolio holder for regeneration, said: “Schemes such as Levelling Up Funding and High Street Heritage Action Zone have already helped unlock so much potential in places such as Whitefriargate. “It is pleasing that the council is able to continue to support heritage projects and I look forward to see them come to fruition.”