As members have been previously informed, planning permission for the demolition of the existing synagogue building and the erection of a new building was submitted to Leeds City Council (LCC) in December 2024.
We are disappointed to have to inform you that, following feedback from LCC planning team, the developer has withdrawn the planning application. The reason for withdrawal is to avoid the application being rejected and allow the developers to remedy the issues raised by the LCC planning team before resubmitting in due course. These issues included the reduction in the number of car park places, a requirement for a bat survey between May and August and the impact on the trees on the site. Frustratingly none of these issues were raised at the pre-application stage and have, we believe, come as a result from local pressure put on the council once the application was made.
The withdrawing of the planning application is not the end of the matter. We are pleased to be able to report that the developer remains committed to the project and is intending in due course to submit updated proposals. As the bat survey can't take place until May at the earliest, we expect that the revised proposals will be submitted by the end of June, which means that the timeline for the building project has been extended by at least 6 months, assuming planning permission is eventually granted at this next attempt by LCC. In saying all this the board of trustees must also consider the potential that this application might not be successful and so we will continue to engage with our building committee to consider alternate solutions should this eventually be the case.
Lucy Nuttgens and Bernard Nelson on behalf of the Board of Trustees