The director of a heritage organisation has called on Leeds City Council to speed up repairs to a collapsed building on one of the city’s oldest streets.
Lower Kirkgate has been closed to traffic since April 2024, when one of the 18th Century buildings on the street partially collapsed.
The repair work was anticipated to start on Monday following repeated delays, but it now appears it might not begin until later this month.
Martin Hamilton, director of Leeds Civic Trust, said: “We need some pace, we need some speed and to see that things are happening – that brings confidence.”
The collapsed building is part of a row of privately-owned properties, but the council stepped in after it said the owner declined to carry out repair work due a “lack of funds”.
Leeds City Council said it would seek to recover the cost of the repairs, which has jumped from £414,500 to £680,000, once they are complete.
Stabilisation work was expected to start on Monday after preparatory work was completed earlier this year.
However, the council said some legal documentation was yet to be finalised and expected the work to be delayed once again.
“Work was at one stage provisionally due to start on Monday but, as of [Friday] afternoon, some legal documentation relating to the contract award still has to be finalised.
“As a result, we now do not expect work to start on Monday but anticipate that it will begin before the end of the month.”
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said the repair work is expected to take around 20 weeks to complete, adding: “It should be stressed that the situation on Lower Kirkgate is not of the council’s making, with the owners of the buildings allowing their condition to deteriorate over many years and then failing to take the necessary steps to address the resultant structural issues.
“By stepping in and carrying out this work itself, the council will be able to arrest the deterioration of important heritage assets on one of Leeds’s oldest streets.
“As always, we thank the local community for their continued patience and support.”
Responding to the council’s latest update, Hamilton said local businesses had become “very frustrated” about the delays.
He said some refurbishment work has been carried out on the street over the last decade, but there remains a “big, gaping gap” at one end.
Hamilton feels Lower Kirkgate is not able to live up to its full potential due to the impact the delayed repair work is having on the whole street, and called on the council to begin as soon as possible.
“Time is of the essence, really.
“We have to try and make this work, and we have to try and do it in a way that is reasonably speedy – that’s not a word we have been able to apply to the situation in recent years.”
