UK: Developer McLaren has secured planning consent to convert Springfield House, a Grade II-Listed building in Woodhouse, in to a PBSA scheme.
The plans involve converting the former mansion house and adding two new wings of up to 13 storeys. The new wings will provide 140 studios and 194 cluster bedrooms, benefiting from private landscaped courtyards, extensive communal amenity, cycle provision and study spaces.
McLaren Property’s regional managing director Tom Gilman said: “We are really excited to bring forward this scheme and thrilled to have received support from Plans Panel members. We have worked diligently with our design team and Leeds City Council to ensure Springfield House will deliver best-in-class student accommodation, whilst sympathetically centre around the Grade II listed building.”
“The scheme is in a prime location situated adjacent to the University. We look forward to progressing to the construction phase and regenerating this site.”
Historic England formally objected on heritage grounds, raising concerns the new wings would tower over the original building.
The panel voted to agree a recommendation to defer and delegate the application to the council’s chief planning officer for approval, subject to legal agreements with the developer.
Because of Historic England’s statutory objection, the scheme will also be referred to the secretary of state for Levelling up, Housing and Communities.
Springfield House was built in 1792 by Thomas Livesey. From 1865 it was owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese, which built a seminary that was eventually knocked down in 1971.
The original building was Grade II-Listed in 1963 but fell into disrepair and was boarded up in the late 1970s. It became offices in 1982 and was used as a clinical research facility from 1987.
