Final agreements have been signed-off on plans to redevelop a former regional newspaper office site.

As previously reported on HTFP, planners have been working on a project on the site of the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post’s former Wellington Street home.

Now it has been confirmed that the first building to be constructed as part of the development will include 111 one-bedroom and 131 two-bedroom flats, which will be available for long-term rental only.

A £716,000 developer contribution for affordable housing was also agreed at a meeting of Leeds City Council’s city plans panel, and construction could begin in the summer.

An artist’s impression of how the development could look

The meeting was told the design of the apartments would sit at the “higher end” of Leeds city centre’s current offer, while the main residential block will step up from 11 storeys on the riverside to 18 floors fronting Wellington Street.

It will include basement parking and a ground floor commercial unit, while the building will also include a unique ‘sky lounge’ type residents’ chillout area looking out across the cityscape.

The building, which will occupy a south-facing riverside plot, is the first phase of the scheme on the five acre site, with outline consent for three more large blocks for office or residential use already granted.

Paul Fox, of agent Fox Lloyd Jones, said: “This is a key milestone in the new story being created for the iconic Yorkshire Evening Post site. Our team has worked incredibly hard to make this new vision come to life.”

The first phase could be completed in two years and the completed project will eventually include offices, flats, a hotel and leisure space.

Wellington Street was the YP and YEP’s home from 1970 to 2012. Demolitions crews cleared the site in 2014 and only the landmark clock tower remains of the old newspaper office building.

Both newspapers are now based a five-minute walk away at No 1 Leeds, on Whitehall Road.