TPS was engaged by the Scarborough Development Group to provide Travel Plan and Public Transport Strategy advice in support of strategic development proposals brought forward for the Thorpe Park Leeds mixed use scheme in Leeds.
The scheme, which benefitted from an existing permission for 1.2m sq ft of B1 office floorspace, will see Thorpe Park Leeds become one of the leading and most prestigious business parks in Europe, with a mix of office, leisure, retail and food and drink uses.
Given the scale of the scheme there was, as would be expected, a great deal of scrutiny placed upon the application from a combination of local councilors, residents and business groups, as well as Leeds City Council and the Highways Agency.
In support of the application TPS prepared a Framework Travel Plan and Public Transport Strategy which set out a vision for sustainable travel at the site in the future. Building upon the extensive work completed in this area already at the site, a range of measures were proposed which would see Thorpe Park Leeds become a destination of choice, regardless of travel mode. Complementing the provision of our transport planning reports TPS worked pro-actively with the wider development team, at such as public consultation events, to ensure that the sustainable travel agenda was suitably promoted to the widest range of stakeholders and interest groups.
The delivery of the mixed-use scheme at Thorpe Park Leeds was approved in 2015. In addition to the existing 800,000 sq ft of floorspace, SGI has planning permission to add 300 new homes, up to 935,000 sq. ft. of high-quality office space, just under 200,000 sq. ft. of retail accommodation, up to 175,000 sq. ft. of leisure space, including hotels and sports facilities, and 45,000 sq. ft. of cafes, bars and restaurants. The end value of the future development phase is expected to be in excess of £400 million.
TPS has been engaged in various capacities at Thorpe Park Leeds since 2000. In addition to support offered to the development team, we are retained on an ongoing basis as part of the Senior Project Team to deliver a range of community and sustainable travel initiatives across the site, which is already home to around 70 businesses employing circa 5,500 staff. For further information on the wider range of services provided, click here.
We are delighted to have played our part in achieving planning permission at this exciting site and enjoy working on the site on an ongoing basis as part of an excellent project team.