As many will know, the above site was allocated for development in the Leeds Site Allocation Plan. The proposal was for retirement housing, and only half the site could be developed, the rest had to be put to use as green space .

McCarthy Stone submitted an initial plan earlier this year, which did not meet with the green space requirements primarily, and thus they withdrew it in order to come up with revised plans. (There were other issues as well, and many public comments.)

PRE-APPLICATION PLANS

Revised plans for the site are currently in the pre-application stage, this is where the Developer was a detailed discussion with LCC planners and officers about the legal planning policies that need to be met, about the issues and benefits of their ideas, and what other areas of the Council will need to be involved. Local representatives are involved in this, as they are familiar with the detail of the locality, as well as with public views. Planning is expensive, and it is sensible to try and get plans right before the expense to both Council and Developer of a Formal Application.

FORMAL PLANS

Once the revised plans have taken account of what is said at the pre-application stage, and Leeds Planning and officials understand what is being proposed and why, McCarthy Stone will start the process of submitting Formal Plans which go out for public consultation. This will be a next stage. It is expected that verified Formal Plans will be submitted in the next month or so when everyone will get a chance to comment.