Construction work is well underway at City Square House, the flagship 140,000 sq ft office building next to Leeds Station by developers MRP. Design & Build Contractors, McAleer & Rushe, began construction in May 2021 and the first construction milestone has now been achieved with the erection of its first tower crane. This landmark building in Leeds city centre will start to emerge as the steel superstructure rises from the ground. Completion of City Square House is planned for Summer 2023 and the opening will coincide with the completion of the extensive public realm improvement works at City Square. Global law firm DLA Piper have signed a deal to take 83,000 sq ft of prime office space at City Square House in the largest private sector pre-let deal in Leeds in the past 20 years. Eamon Fox, partner and head of office agency at global property consultancy Knight Frank in Leeds, who is advising MRP, said: “It is tremendous to see this flagship building slowly taking shape, providing a very genuine cause to be optimistic about the commercial property sector in Yorkshire. “City Square House is the iconic new office development that the Leeds market has been waiting for. It is in a prime position, just off City Square and next to Leeds Station, and the remaining available space of 55,000 sq ft will help to address the pressing need for quality Grade A office space in the city centre. “City Square House will now join the Majestic, 1 City Square, 34 Boar Lane and Platform as four state-of-the-art office developments, which are a credit to the city of Leeds. They underline the fact that Leeds is now one of the most flourishing regional cities, not just in the UK, but in Europe,” said Mr Fox. He added: “It is also fitting that DLA Piper, whose origins as a law firm in Leeds date back to 1764, have kick-started one of the most significant developments in the city so far this century.” Angus Montieth, development director at MRP, said: “We have been quietly going about our business of building the best office building in Leeds with sustainability and wellbeing at the heart of its design. City Square House office will quickly take shape during 2022 and it will slot into place as the final piece of the City Square regeneration plan.” Mr Fox explained: “The pandemic has transformed the ways of working. Businesses are working flexibly, they want an appealing office environment for staff to enjoy working collaboratively and the office should be an attractive destination. City Square House delivers on the environmental commitments businesses have made to their staff, customers and shareholders. “The speculative development of City Square House was another telling reminder that the death of the office, because of the global pandemic, was a myth. I was fascinated – and reassured – to read the news that Google is backing a return to the office with an investment that will expand its UK capacity by 50 per cent and reinvigorate the work environment. The search giant is spending £730m and expects its staff headcount to rise from 6,400 to 10,000. It is buying one of the London sites, Central Saint Giles, in which it is currently a tenant.” Mr Fox added Google’s confidence in the office as a viable and dynamic workspace was vividly underlined in Leeds where, apart from City Square House and 34 Boar Lane, new office developments included Globe Point, Trevelyan Square, Tailors Corner and 123 Albion Street. “The Leeds office market is incredibly strong, whatever the doom-mongers might say. Just watch the deals roll in this year.”

City of York Council has submitted plans to transform the castle car park, Eye of York and the wider area into a new, world-class public space.

When it comes to supporting local communities, Brierley Homes and partner The HACS Group are always looking to chip in.

So when the opportunity arose to help out Woodfield Millennium Green in Harrogate, the companies knew they had the right tool for the job. A space for “growing, sharing, meeting and playing”, Woodfield Millennium Green was established as part of a government initiative in 2000 to provide areas of public open space across the UK close to people’s homes. The donation of a wood chipper will help the trustees of the green and their group of volunteers maintain hedgerows around the site, which is a short distance from Brierley Homes’ new Woodfield Square development. County Councillor Derek Bastiman, Executive Member for Growth and Economic Development, said: “Playing an active part in the communities where developments are located is at the heart of their ethos as a company. So, along with partners such as The HACS Group, Brierley Homes are always looking for opportunities to help out where they can.” Matt O’Neill, Brierley Homes Director, added: “The volunteers who help look after the Woodfield Millennium Green should be commended for the work they have done to establish and maintain this important resource. We hope we have been able to make their task a little easier with the donation of the wood chipper.” John Hart, chair of the Trustees of Woodfield Millennium Green, thanked both companies for the donation. “The Millennium Greens were donated around the country to organisations so that they could partake in voluntary work in areas where perhaps some people don’t have big gardens,” he said. “This gives them an opportunity to get involved in the outdoors, to do some volunteering or do some gardening. “We have had support from the local councillor, from a couple of shops and from Brierley Homes and HACS and we are really very appreciative of that.” He also thanked local shop Roots and Fruits, which has donated plants, as well as cake and biscuits for the volunteers. Eddie Ashworth, HACS Group Commercial Director, said: “The trustees at the Millennium Green do great work for the people who live nearby and the wider community of Harrogate. We think it is important that this work is recognised and, as with the other projects we have assisted with, we are delighted to be able to help with the donation of the wood chipper.” Cllr Matt Scott, County Councillor for Harrogate Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said the Millennium Green was a fine of example of residents taking pride in their local area. “Thanks to the dedication of the volunteers, this Millennium Green can be enjoyed by young and old, families and individuals,” he said. “I am delighted to have been able to support them in their endeavours and along with local businesses and now Brierley Homes and HACS, I hope it is around for generations to come.” The Woodfield Square development will comprise 19 two, three and four-bedroom homes. Brierley Homes is part of the Brierley Group, which was established by us in 2017 to bring together council-owned companies with the aim of improving front line services. The group offers services within North Yorkshire and beyond. Other companies in the group are NY Highways, Align Property Partners, First North Law, NYnet, Yorwaste, Veritau, North Yorkshire Education Services and NY Tech. Find more information about Brierley Homes, and follow them on LinkedIn.

Construction works have now commenced on the second phase of The Parklands, a new residential community in Sudbrooke, Lincoln, bringing new homes to the market in 2022. Works started on the 155-home development in 2018 and developer Jackson Living – part of Jackson & Jackson Developments – has now moved into the second phase. Sitting north of phase one, phase two will see the delivery of 41 homes, including 11 five-bedroom properties – including a landmark home with a thatched roof – and 12 affordable homes, all overlooking Sudbrooke woodland. The exclusive 46.7-acre development is made up of 24 individual house designs and will feature two, three, four and five-bedroom homes in a unique woodland setting. The final phase, phase three, will commence next year in 2023. Due for overall completion in 2024, The Parklands has taken its design inspiration from the surrounding, historic woodland and traditional village setting and will feature communal outdoor spaces, woodland footpaths, a restaurant, kitchen garden and community allotments. Landscape and green space play a key part in The Parklands. As part of phase one, newly created footpaths were added around the existing ponds, native tree, shrubs, hedgerows and wildflowers were planted. Further work will include community allotments and a kitchen garden including heritage fruit trees, flower beds and space for sheds and glasshouses. Jackson Living worked with Newark-based firm Influence Landscape Planning and Design across all phases at The Parklands with the company designing the on plot gardens and public spaces. As part of phase 2, Influence Landscape Planning and Design produced the landscape plans which include open grass and wildflower areas, native tree planting and mixed shrub planting. Lindsey Arkley, senior landscape architect at Influence Landscape Planning and Design, said: “The existing site features of The Parklands, such as the ponds and trees, significantly led the landscape design process as they naturally informed the layout. We then created a landscape masterplan that reflected and respected the historic setting and promoted and enhanced the biodiversity and ecological value. “Our landscape designs include significant outside areas to encourage natural play and nature and alongside the developer, have chosen to plant species that are appropriate to the local area and are of benefit to local wildlife. We have also worked around existing parkland trees which are a beautiful asset within the development, and new trees are being planted and where relevant, reinstated. We are very pleased to be involved on such a special site.” Jackson Living project manager, Ben Martin, said: “As new home owners buy the final few plots of phase one, we are now moving onto phase two to continue to create this thriving, new neighbourhood. “Our homes are carefully considered in terms of materials and design, but we also place great importance on the green areas at The Parklands. A great deal of time has been channelled into the landscape side to ensure we maximise the opportunity to enhance the many beautiful and historic existing features and create new ones. We have been working with the team at Influence since 2016 and their expertise in creating and nurturing habitats is hugely important to the site. “All of the progress at The Parklands to date is a true testament to the overall position of what The Parklands offers, from the quality of the buildings to the natural landscape and woodlands. As part of phase two we are delighted to be able to release more plots and look forward to welcoming more residents to our exciting community.”

Interchange 26 LLP has completed on a forward funding deal with 4^th Industrial (UK) LP for up to 213,000 sq ft of new industrial units at the Interchange 26 logistics and manufacturing hub in West Yorkshire. The new scheme has the potential to create some 300 new jobs for the region. The forward funding commitment will see the delivery of three units at the prime logistics hub located at the major J26 intersection of the M62 Transpennine motorway and M606 Bradford link. Reserved matters consent has recently been granted by Kirklees Council for a 64,500 sq ft unit and a 43,500 sq ft unit. A further planning application is under consideration for up to 105,000 sq ft, which forms the final phase of development. GMI Construction has been appointed as contractor and work is scheduled to commence on site in early 2022 with delivery of the two consented units expected in late Summer 2022. Works on the final phase will commence once planning has been considered by Kirklees Council. Interchange 26, an Opus North & Network Space Capital owned company, acquired the former water treatment works site on an unconditional basis in 2019 to facilitate the development of prime industrial accommodation and address the severe regional shortages. A comprehensive remediation and earthworks package has now been completed. This latest deal follows on from Interchange 26’s 10.4 acre land sale in 2020 to British Airways Pension Trustees Limited and Tungsten Properties. Work is underway on Super B, a new big box warehouse, which is set for completion in Q3 2022. Interchange 26 forms part of Opus North’s wider development strategy to enhance its £250m development programme with a focus on the logistics sector. Ryan Unsworth, development director of Opus North, said: “This forward funding agreement will enable us to bring three much needed mid-box units to the severely constrained regional pipeline, fulfilling our vision for this strategic site. This development will go some way to addressing the supply and demand imbalance in South Bradford and North Kirklees, while facilitating new jobs for the wider region.” Interchange 26 LLP was represented by Dove Haigh Phillips and Knight Frank in the transaction while 4^th Industrial represented themselves.