Award-winning homebuilder Redrow has taken ownership of circa 20 acres of land at Thorpe Park Leeds, with planning permission for up to 300 new homes.
Redrow is gearing up to start work on initial phases in April, with show homes ready towards the end of this year and the first homes expected to be ready to move into at the start of 2020.
The development will take circa four years to complete and comes with a package of community benefits worth circa £1.5 million, including over £1m to local education provision, plus 15% affordable housing across the site worth a further £7.1m.
Redrow’s new development sits close to the site earmarked for a new railway station and park and ride, on the Leeds-York/Selby line, which would make the new homes particularly attractive to commuters – especially with anticipated journey times to Leeds city centre of only eight minutes.
Home owners will also benefit from close proximity to The Springs, one of the region’s newest and most successful retail and leisure destinations which is already home to big names including Next, Boots, M&S Food, TK Maxx, Pure Gym and Odeon cinema, and several high-end restaurants.
Paul Oldridge, managing director of Redrow Homes (Yorkshire), said:
“We’ve been working hard behind the scenes since Redrow was first named by Scarborough International Properties and Legal & General as delivery partner for the homes at Thorpe Park Leeds. With planning permission now in place and having completed the land acquisition, we are excited about starting work as soon as is practically possible and proud to be the only housebuilder at Thorpe Park Leeds.
“The location is excellent, close to all the amenities and employment opportunities of Thorpe Park Leeds; and, subject to a successful conclusion to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s plans for a new railway station, our homes will be perfectly positioned for anyone who commutes to central Leeds or, indeed, York.”
Redrow’s development forms a ‘gateway’ to the eventual creation of circa 7,000 homes as part of the East Leeds Extension. The wider Thorpe Park Leeds development is delivering the primary infrastructure to kick start the new East Leeds Orbital Road (ELOR), including the imminent completion of the new Manston Lane Link Road, which will connect Crossgates to J46 of the M1.
Welcoming Redrow on board, Simon Marshall, Joint Chief Executive at Scarborough International Properties, commented:
“We are delighted at the timely start on site for Redrow Homes having recently completed the 300,000 sq ft Springs retail and leisure park. This residential scheme complements the overall appeal at Thorpe Park Leeds with the new Manston Lane Link Road opening soon and further office development planned.
“Our vision for a true mixed-use destination is founded on four key themes: community, health and wellbeing, connection and enterprise. We believe that Redrow shares our ethos as we work together to ensure integration of the Thorpe Park Leeds project to East Leeds’ wider community.”
Providing up to 300 new homes at Thorpe Park Leeds will cement Redrow’s position as a major player in the Leeds residential property sector. It follows the hugely successful transformation of the old Clariant Works and Riverside Mills sites side-by-side in Horsforth, the recently launched redevelopment of the old Stocks block manufacturing plant in Garforth and new homes on surplus land at Agfa Graphics, on the outer ring road. It brings the number of Redrow homes built, under construction or with planning consent in the City of Leeds administrative district over the last five years to 1,160.
Redrow’s Thorpe Park Leeds development will operate as three outlets including two, three and four-bedroom homes from its Arts & Crafts inspired Heritage Collection and a selection of two, three and four-bedroom homes with more contemporary elevations, which have been specially designed for the location. There will also be 42 two-bedroom apartments, marketed separately, in three and four-storey buildings.
The more contemporary properties will feature brick, light render, timber cladding and grey windows and will face Central Park and the main Thorpe Park Leeds development areas, with gradual transition to the more familiar look and feel of Redrow’s traditional Arts & Crafts style product towards the core.
Redrow’s residential development will be separated from the commercial areas of Thorpe Park Leeds by the newly created public park, a new 110-acre green space with footpaths, cycleways, informal areas of open space, woodland and new wetland areas. Redrow will make a financial contribution towards the park’s upkeep and will also create a series of new ‘green fingers’ of open space that feed into Central Park from its homes.