Nimby's?

[leeds-rich]

From the YEP

A blueprint for the slums of the future?
I TOO was 'bitterly disappointed' at the decision of Leeds planners to allow the appalling development on the Leeds Canal Basin of a 14-storey hotel and 22-storey and 14-storey apartment blocks (YEP, April 4).
Why do we have to endure these high-rise buildings? We are going to end up looking like Manhattan Island.
There are too many tall cranes towering over Leeds, erecting tall buildings.
Leeds Civic Trust, English Heritage, Friends of the Earth and other conservation organisations all had the right idea to create a pleasant 'Covent Garden of the North' for our city. A place where people can meet and enjoy the amenities by the riverside.
Some of our older, disused buildings converted to flats for professional people are all right but, purpose-built high-rise flats, I imagine, are not what the majority of the people of the Leeds area want.
They obviously have no gardens where children can play, they shut out the sun and are the future slums and tenements and, eventually, will fall into disrepair, like the old Quarry Hill flats.
The Leeds planners should tell the developers to go back to the drawing board.
MRS JUNE NEWTON, Manor Road, Rothwell, Leeds




Does anyone else agree with me that people like this are only holding our city back from developing?

"We are going to end up looking like Manhattan Island." Ha i really cant see that.

[Leeds No.1]

Stupid people; would they prefer Leeds and other cities to be like they were 10 years ago? And if it ends up looking like Manhattan Island, great! Probably won't happen but it would be nice.

[Credulous]

Well she's entitled to her opinion, but I think she's wrong. Maybe not so much with the specific development she's attacking here, but in the generalisation she is making.

If you compare the city centre of Leeds to a lot of other areas of the city, it is hard to argue it isn't an attractive part of the town, and the new developments, only add to the quality of the city centre.

I think she sounds worried that this type of high rise development will become common in the suburbs, which I sincerely doubt.

She sounds like she is very anti-highrise in general, using the justification of the unknown (e.g. Manhattan) as a reason to object to highrise buildings.

Sounds to me like she needs to broaden her horizons!

Does she honestly think Leeds is not a better city for all the development it is attracting?

[leeds-rich]

Yeah of course she is entitled to her opinion, but she cannot possibly be thinking Leeds is not going to be a better city for development in general.

[jimbo]

Originally Posted by leeds-rich

From the YEP

A blueprint for the slums of the future?
I TOO was 'bitterly disappointed' at the decision of Leeds planners to allow the appalling development on the Leeds Canal Basin of a 14-storey hotel and 22-storey and 14-storey apartment blocks (YEP, April 4).
Why do we have to endure these high-rise buildings? We are going to end up looking like Manhattan Island.
There are too many tall cranes towering over Leeds, erecting tall buildings.
Leeds Civic Trust, English Heritage, Friends of the Earth and other conservation organisations all had the right idea to create a pleasant 'Covent Garden of the North' for our city. A place where people can meet and enjoy the amenities by the riverside.
Some of our older, disused buildings converted to flats for professional people are all right but, purpose-built high-rise flats, I imagine, are not what the majority of the people of the Leeds area want.
They obviously have no gardens where children can play, they shut out the sun and are the future slums and tenements and, eventually, will fall into disrepair, like the old Quarry Hill flats.
The Leeds planners should tell the developers to go back to the drawing board.
MRS JUNE NEWTON, Manor Road, Rothwell, Leeds




Does anyone else agree with me that people like this are only holding our city back from developing?

"We are going to end up looking like Manhattan Island." Ha i really cant see that.

emotively written probably by a 70yr old granny who has only ever lived in Leeds. Don't disagree with her comments about the scale of development proposed for Canal Basin, but the comment regarding too many tall cranes building tall buildings was smacks of NIMBY retro-thinking. Sure, people might not appreciate the blunt, shiny glass and metal inspired designs of Ian Simpson, but by god, we're in the 21st century now love, get rid of that cake on your head and tartan shopping trolley and realise that we're not like York, Durham, Oxford and Cambridge dominated by beautiful church spires. We're a post-industrial powerhouse that's successfully diversifying, and needs a commensurate level of development to keep us as a key player in the UK and Europe.

no rant intended. She would have had my respective if she was complaining about the shitty plastic grey panels on West Central though!

[Skopie]

I agree with her. I think they should bemolish BWP, and build a quaint row of semis along the waterfront. They could build a lovely housing estate on the criterion site also, and a nice set of bungalows on the la lumiere site.

We don't want Leeds becoming like Manhattan, Manhattans fulls of slums. You should see the unsavoury charachters that lurk around the tower blocks on the upper east side.

On a related note, nimby's sucessfully prevented the building of a 3 storey block of flats in my local town centre, stating it was out of charachter with other buildings in the town centre.

The town centre which is made up from a large proportion of 3 storey victorian buildings, surrounded by old 3/4 storey old warehouses, 3/4 storey victorian villas with 5m ceiling heights, and new build 3 storey townhouses.

[Rob]

Exactly Skopie.

I have to wonder why these people stick their noses into other people's business, I mean she lives in Manor Road, Rothwell, not the city centre so why is it her business ? You have to add that if she doesn't like high rise skylines, why live in or near a city, or why visit a city, just stay away, after all, most towns and cities in the UK are not remotely high rise.

[ahmedd]

I don't think that any large proportion of loiners are nimbys concerning development in the city centre. If anything I think there is a distinct lack of interest amongst the general public about the developments that are happening, hence the reason we get bland schemes passed and developed without much mention or public outcry.

[Fred2]

Originally Posted by ahmedd

I don't think that any large proportion of loiners are nimbys concerning development in the city centre. If anything I think there is a distinct lack of interest amongst the general public about the developments that are happening, hence the reason we get bland schemes passed and developed without much mention or public outcry.

She is certainly entitled to her opinion and the fact that she lives in Rothwell is irrelevant - after all she may have to feast her eyes on these buildings every day.

If in fact some of these new developments are monstrosities - and let's face it some ARE - blame the philistines on the planning committees and their 'civil sevants' who advise them (and let us not forget the architects). It is only after the buildings are erected that the public can make a judgment on them - by which time it is too late ! No wonder they are apathetic. The problem with bad buildings is that we are stuck with them for 30-40 years or more.

[Leeds No.1]

Which one's are monstrosities? Not many really =/

[Fred2]

Originally Posted by Leeds No.1

Which one's are monstrosities? Not many really =/

West Point for starters - not even the most ardent (including you No.1 ) can really see it as much of an improvement on the old Royal Mail building - in spite of all the hype. From a slighly earlier era - Quarry House - my all time bete noire ! I will leave it to others to list their favourite monstrosities!

[Leeds No.1]

West Point... well it's not amazing but its better than what was there before so I don't think its much to complain about particularly considering theres alot of other developments to be thakful for. And I like Quarry House; one of my favourite buildings in the city.

[Leeds No.1]

A red letter day
£85m revamp of Post Office
BY DEBBIE LEIGH
THE former Royal Mail building in Leeds city centre has opened its doors to its first residents.
After four years and a radical £85 million transformation, the striking 15-storey building that has revitalised urban space on Wellington Street is now complete.
West Point – home to 363 stylish apartments, now stands on the spot where the letters and parcels of West Yorkshire were sorted for so many years.
Property investor Michael Von Pokrzywnicki liked the KW Linfoot development so much he bought a place there for himself.
Regeneration
He said: "I love Leeds for its vibrancy and pace of life. West Point could not be better located for access to travel networks and with my work and leisure pursuits now within walking distance I have been able to sell my car."
The scheme, in the heart of the West Point regeneration zone, has been heralded as one of the city's most prestigious developments because of its prime location and 21st century, American-inspired mixed-use elements.
The ground floor is to house leisure and retail outlets, with the Co-op already signed up to occupy one of the units.
There are also plans for a £230 million second phase development – Lumiere – featuring a glass skyscraper at least 516ft tall, which would be the tallest building in the North East of England.
The 51-storey landmark would be between Wellington Street and Whitehall Road, cost £200 million and include prime pads designed for wealthy over-55s wanting to live in the city centre.
A similar 26-storey glass tower 295ft tall would be built next to it, containing 100 serviced apartments and around 100,000 sq ft of office space.
The two would be linked by a central piazza and gardens and would house a total of around 650 apartments, plus shops, cafes and restaurants, a health centre and a dentist.
The building would be taller than Bridgewater Place, the 32-storey project under way at Water Lane, which is also being fitted out by KW Linfoot.
debbie.leigh@ypn.co.uk
08 April 2006

[Fred2]

Originally Posted by Leeds No.1

A red letter day
£85m revamp of Post Office
BY DEBBIE LEIGH
THE former Royal Mail building in Leeds city centre has opened its doors to its first residents.
After four years and a radical £85 million transformation, the striking 15-storey building that has revitalised urban space on Wellington Street is now complete.
West Point – home to 363 stylish apartments, now stands on the spot where the letters and parcels of West Yorkshire were sorted for so many years.
Property investor Michael Von Pokrzywnicki liked the KW Linfoot development so much he bought a place there for himself.
Regeneration
He said: "I love Leeds for its vibrancy and pace of life. West Point could not be better located for access to travel networks and with my work and leisure pursuits now within walking distance I have been able to sell my car."
The scheme, in the heart of the West Point regeneration zone, has been heralded as one of the city's most prestigious developments because of its prime location and 21st century, American-inspired mixed-use elements.
The ground floor is to house leisure and retail outlets, with the Co-op already signed up to occupy one of the units.
There are also plans for a £230 million second phase development – Lumiere – featuring a glass skyscraper at least 516ft tall, which would be the tallest building in the North East of England.
The 51-storey landmark would be between Wellington Street and Whitehall Road, cost £200 million and include prime pads designed for wealthy over-55s wanting to live in the city centre.
A similar 26-storey glass tower 295ft tall would be built next to it, containing 100 serviced apartments and around 100,000 sq ft of office space.
The two would be linked by a central piazza and gardens and would house a total of around 650 apartments, plus shops, cafes and restaurants, a health centre and a dentist.
The building would be taller than Bridgewater Place, the 32-storey project under way at Water Lane, which is also being fitted out by KW Linfoot.
debbie.leigh@ypn.co.uk
08 April 2006

So ?

[Fred2]

Originally Posted by Leeds No.1

West Point... well it's not amazing but its better than what was there before so I don't think its much to complain about particularly considering theres alot of other developments to be thakful for. And I like Quarry House; one of my favourite buildings in the city.

Each to his own Leeds No.1 ! At least we get a grudging admission that West Point is not amazing. In my opinion, it is a great pity. It had the potential to have been so much better.

[JOliver]

Originally Posted by leeds-rich

Why do we have to endure these high-rise buildings?

… because there’s not much choice really. Another option would be to build awfully small “family” houses on Greenfield sites. So I am amazed why Friends of the Earth and English Heritage are opposing this.

I would understand if it was to be built in place of a nice Victorian house, which were demolished in numbers in 60’s (like the train station in Saltaire, where English Heritage and FotE were then?), but to replace a car park with rather nice development – what’s wrong with that?! Well, true, the design is not the world’s best, but not so bad either, you could see that people did try to create smth nice on this – quite difficult from many perspectives – site. If they keep a canal side opened and with a better access than now – and it can’t be any worth really – I think I will be happy. And also true that it will at least cover Blue, which is so bad and ugly, worth than City House.

And if to generalize about hi-rises, most, if not all, are built on such sites, where not so many people would think of building anything at all. Would you buy half an acre of Yorkshire Chemicals site to build a bungalow for your retirement?

[Rob]

Originally Posted by Fred2

West Point for starters - not even the most ardent (including you No.1 ) can really see it as much of an improvement on the old Royal Mail building - in spite of all the hype.

You have got to be joking . . .

[Fred2]

Originally Posted by Rob

You have got to be joking . . .

I joke not.

[leeds-rich]

Originally Posted by Fred2

I joke not.

So you'd rather it be that old grey concrete monstrosity?

[Leeds No.1]

I much prefer it now and it makes the road feel so much more built up!