Yorkshire Bank headquarters could become an indoor sports venue – but not until after 2025

According to a document going before next week’s executive board meeting, Leeds City Council is expected to swap one of its own sites for half of the Yorkshire Bank Building, in anticipation of the area eventually being redeveloped in the coming years.

The authority owns the two grassed areas between Clay Pit Lane and Leeds Arena, known as Site A and Site B – which had originally been earmarked for “complementary leisure uses” to the arena.

The adjacent Yorkshire Bank building site is split into two, known as Site C and Site D, and is in the process of being bought by a third-party who, the council claims, intends to redevelop the site for student housing once the building becomes vacant – which might not be until 2025.

To help solve this, Leeds City Council now plans to swap Site A for Site C, meaning the local authority would in effect own half of the Yorkshire Bank site.

A council document states: “(It) would facilitate the creation of a single more versatile development plot with future development potential for leisure uses complementary to the Arena.

“The proposal would also enable the buyer of the Yorkshire Bank site to bring forward much earlier a student residential development on Site A.”

The Yorkshire Bank head office building was recently put up for sale by its owner following the bank’s decision to reorganise its operations.

Council officers say terms for the “unconditional sale of the building” have been agreed with a third party buyer. However, no development on the site can take place until 2025, as that is when the current lease with Yorkshire Bank’s parent company ends.