Planning consent granted for expansion of city’s cultural oasis.

Leeds Council has granted planning permission for an 8.1-acre, £100 m mixed-use development in the Quarry Hill area of the city.

Caddick Developments aim to make Quarry Hill, once the site of Europe’s biggest social housing scheme, a prestigious business and cultural destination. The area is already home to the Leeds College of Music and the West Yorkshire Playhouse, and soon the Northern Ballet & Phoenix Dance.

The plans include six multi-storey buildings that can be used for offices, leisure and residential accommodation, and will be linked to existing developments by a series of public squares and gardens. The scheme has been designed by Leeds-based architect DLG.

Caddick Developments’ Peter Holley said: “This scheme is one of the most unique and adventurous that Leeds has ever seen.”