Leeds council is putting the site of its international swimming pool on the market at the end of the month, creating a major redevelopment opportunity in the city’s offices quarter.
The council is inviting tenders by 26 March 2004 for a mixed-use development, with offices as the primary activity.
Other potential uses approved by the council include a hotel, leisure space and residences.
The site, which abuts Leeds’ inner ring road, includes the adjacent car park at Westgate.
The planning and development brief encourages potential developers to reintroduce the historic pattern of streets destroyed when the pool was built.
This would integrate the new scheme into the neighbouring City Centre Conservation Area around Park Square.
Prospective developers will also be expected to address the barrier created by the inner ring road and create better pedestrian and cycle linkages across this barrier towards the Kirkstall Valley.
This may include building a bridge link replacing the high-level pedestrian bridge over the ring road.
Proceeds from the disposal of the site will help finance the building of a new pool at South Leeds Stadium on Middleton Grove.
Although the old pool was always called the “International Pool”, it was never built to international standards because of cost cuts made when it was built in the 1970s and so Leeds could not use it to host competitions.
References: EGi News 27/01/04
