A new build-to-rent development in Leeds featuring 375 apartments has been given the green light, ensuring yet another major construction project is in the pipeline.

Developer McClaren Living will build the £85 million development at Beck Yard in the South Bank regeneration area of the city, with the scheme also featuring 30,000 sq ft of outdoor realm, 7,000 ft of indoor amenities including lounges, shared workspaces and a gym, plus three rooftop gardens.

The loftiest of these will be on the 14th floor, which means crane hire will be required as part of the building process.

Managing Director of McLaren Living Matthew Biddle remarked: “It’s an excellent time to be working in the city. Leeds is one of the UK’s fastest growing cities, forecast to grow by 21 per cent over the next ten years.” 

He said the “future is bright” for the city as it is becoming home to many headquarters of major companies, with Channel 4 set to move to a new home there and the BBC planning to establish a larger presence too.

The recent growth of the city has certainly been evident in more ways than one. The 2021 Census showed the population of Leeds had risen over the decade since 2011 from 751,500 to 812,000. A 21 per cent rise from this would take the 2031 population to 982,000, close to making Leeds only the third UK city with a population over a million after London and Birmingham.

Leeds is also seeing major growth in its built environment as a plethora of ongoing and new projects keep the construction and plant hire sectors busy.

Earlier this month, planning permission was granted for three towers on the former site of the Yorkshire Evening Post. Student accommodation developer Urbanite is behind the plan, with the tallest of the trio set to require a large crane as it rises to 42 storeys in height.