Highlights:
- The approved plans will see a vacant office block in the centre of Leeds converted into 230 co-living homes
- The design will serve the evolving residents’ needs and will include many social benefits
- Watkin Jones’ first co-living project in Leeds is expected to be completed in 2028
Watkin Jones, the UK’s leading developer and manager of residential for rent, is pleased to announce that Leeds City Council has approved its plans for the conversion and re-purposing of Headrow House at 42 The Headrow, into 230 co-living homes.
Headrow House is a vacant office block in the centre of Leeds. When completed in 2028, the project will deliver a supported communal living environment, offering high-quality managed homes for city centre living and will help to address the demand for rental accommodation that continues to outstrip supply in Leeds. The project is a prime opportunity to restore and repurpose an historic building and contribute to the regeneration of vacant buildings in the city centre. The scheme will retain retail units on the ground floor, helping to support local residents and businesses and Headrow House will only be a short walk from popular restaurants and shopping centres.
The co-living design supports the Group’s ESG strategy, emphasising reuse and energy efficiency, and attaining BREEAM ‘Excellent’ certification. The retrofit enhances thermal efficiency and air permeability, with electric heating for net zero carbon, energy-efficient windows, and air source heat pumps. Photovoltaic panels, efficient lighting, and energy-saving controls will optimise performance. By reusing the building , the scheme will reduce embodied carbon by 78% and Watkin Jones will use sustainable landscaping throughout.
Importantly, the design will serve evolving residents’ needs and will include many social benefits. Headrow House will offer its occupiers a high-quality gym, shared kitchens and dining areas, a cinema, co-working lounge, library, laundry room and bicycle parking in addition to personal storage rooms. The site offers excellent public transport links, located within a 300m walk from Leeds train station.
Iain Smith, Planning Director at Watkin Jones, commented:
"We are very excited to announce planning approval for Headrow House, our first co-living project in Leeds. Ranked the third largest city by population in the UK, Leeds is a vital commercial and residential centre, and we are committed to providing high-quality, sustainable co-living accommodation that will help to address the on-going demand for rental homes in Leeds city centre.
“We look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts with Leeds City Council and our local communities to address this growing demand, while also supporting our ESG targets as a business.”
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Media enquiries:
WHP Group (Watkin Jones)
Reg Hoare, Rachel Farrington and Charles Hirst
watkinjones@MHPGroup.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 3128 8100
Notes to Editors
Watkin Jones is the UK's leading developer and manager of residential for rent, with a focus on the build to rent, student accommodation and affordable housing sectors. The Group has strong relationships with institutional investors, and a reputation for successful, on-time-delivery of high-quality developments. Since 1999, Watkin Jones has delivered 48,000 student beds across 143 sites, making it a key player and leader in the UK purpose-built student accommodation market, and is increasingly expanding its operations into the build to rent sector. In addition, Fresh, the Group's specialist accommodation management business, manages over 16,940 student beds and build to rent apartments on behalf of its institutional clients. Watkin Jones has also been responsible for over 80 residential developments, ranging from starter homes to executive housing and apartments.
The Group's competitive advantage lies in its experienced management team and capital-light business model, which enables it to offer an end-to-end solution for investors, delivered entirely in-house with minimal reliance on third parties, across the entire life cycle of an asset.
Watkin Jones was admitted to trading on AIM in March 2016 with the ticker WJG.L. For additional information please visit www.watkinjonesplc.com