Beautiful 18th Century Leeds manor house set to be turned into student accommodation

Plans for a grade II-listed building in Woodhouse to be turned into student accommodation have been approved.

Ah yes, just what we needed…more student accommodation.

Springfield House, a stunning 18th Century manor house in Woodhouse, is to be transformed to house 334 students.

Plans include demolishing existing wings to make way for two new ones that will range from four to 13 storeys, both sitting on either side of Springfield House, with a taller extension at one end.

The proposal will now go to the council’s chief planning officer, then to the government for final approval.

Historic England and other heritage groups have objected due to concerns over its impact on a conservation area and stated concerns over the extension being “taller than the listed building and will dominate it in terms of scale”.

Other objections included Leeds Civic Trust and Little Woodhouse Community Association, who flagged concerns about noise, traffic issues and a loss of privacy.

Nearby pub venue the Faversham also objected, saying the flats would overlook wedding receptions in its grounds.

Steven Allison, who runs the venue, told the council’s plans panel: “This is a serious threat to our business. The impact from that intrusiveness is going to be disastrous, we believe.”

However, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, council planning officers said they did not believe there was a negative impact on the neighbouring site.

Springfield House was built in 1792 by the cloth-dresser Thomas Livesey on a field called Well Close and from 1865 it was owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese, which built a seminary on the site that was knocked down in 1971.

Because of Historic England’s statutory objection, the scheme has been referred to the Secretary of State for final approval.

Read more:

• Plans for St John’s Centre to be turned into student accommodation have been revealed
• Plans for 800-bed block of student flats to replace Leeds shopping centre have been approved
• Plans for huge block of student flats to replace Leeds shopping centre have been revealed

Featured image – Leeds City Council