Trinity West expansion plans to be discussed by Leeds councillors

Proposals to extend a city centre shopping development skywards to make room for a new anchor clothes store will be discussed by councillors this week. Developers behind the ambitious Trinity West development – currently Leeds Shopping Plaza – want to extend the roof on the southern half of the centre to create a large retail store. Trinity West is part of the £350 million Trinity Leeds scheme, which will include 120 retail units over a million square foot and is due to open in 2013. Planning officers want to decide whether the scheme should go ahead once a final proposal is received rather than leave it to councillors 'given the tight timescales under which delivery of this revision is to be made'. A pre-planning application report to be considered by councillors at the city centre plans panel in Leeds Civic Hall on Wednesday says: "During the marketing process a potential tenant has requested that an extension be added to the roof of Trinity West (Leeds Shopping Plaza) to allow them the amount of floor space they require to create a large anchor store. "Officers have been working alongside the project architects to ensure that this extension results in an improved overall scheme and it is considered that the proposal has now progressed to the point where members need to be made aware of these changes and asked for their views on the key issues." The proposals, by developers Land Securities, show the roofline of the centre will be up to six metres higher than the current building and the extension will cover 2,500 square metres. Officers say there would be no detrimental impact on the view of the historic Mill Hill Chapel in City Square. The report adds: "Officers would point out at this stage that it is of a height which means that it is almost totally masked by the roof of Mill Hill Chapel and therefore will have very little impact on the view of the Chapel from all but the south western corner of City Square." The report adds that the existing entrance to Trinity West from City Square is currently clad in mirror glass and 'presents a poor visual appearance in the street and to City Square'. The new proposal would mean that this entrance would have to be reconfigured and the intention is to increase it in height to the full, four-storey height of the proposed building. What do you think? Have your say in the comments section below.