Work on collapsed building in Leeds city centre is pushed back to 2026

Work to repair a collapsed building on a historic Leeds city centre street has now been pushed back to next year as businesses affected say they have had enough.

- by Charles Gray

Head chef at Wapentake, Brian Hearle, said that the businesses are 'really fed up' with waiting for the repairs to be done.

Work to repair the collapsed building in Lower Kirkgate was due to start at the end of September but Leeds City Council have now said that the works will not start until next year and are expected to last for 22 weeks.

Frustration has grown among businesses in the year-and-a-half since the derelict, privately-owned 18th century building collapsed in April 2024 as it has closed the road to traffic and stifled trade.

Building firm Geo Houlton and Sons was hired to carry out the repairs on the privately-owned buildings at a cost of £414,500. The beginning of work was halted the other week when a need for further preparatory ground surveys was found.

In December 2024 an urgent works notice was served on the owner of the buildings, which meant the council could carry out the repairs itself and reclaim the cost if they did not take action.

The use of a compulsory purchase order was also being considered as a last resort to enable the restoration of the buildings.

Business owners near the collapsed building have said that trade has been noticeably impacted since the closure of the road.