I & H Brown has been awarded the first construction contract on the £400M Kirkstall Forge mixed use scheme in Leeds by developer Commercial Estates Group (CEG).
Work is set to start this month on a new railway station to serve the development, which will provide 1000 new homes and 300,000 sq ft of office space on the 23 hectare site when completed.
Initial construction works will deliver a new railway station and access road which will also service the site by late summer 2015. CEG has already completed necessary demolition and site remediation work.
The Kirkstall Forge development will also include construction of new shops, restaurants, a gym, crèche and other facilities. The scheme is expected to create around 2,400 jobs, which will boost the local economy by more than £5M per year.
MP for Leeds West Rachel Reeves said: “Kirkstall Forge is set to stimulate the local economy and will ultimately be a catalyst for major regeneration, much-needed housing delivery and job creation on a brownfield site.”
Commercial Estates Group said it is investing more than £10M in affordable housing, education and transport improvements as part of the wider project.
The Department for Transport will also provide around £10M towards the £16.9M needed to deliver two new railway stations, one on the site and one at nearby Apperley Bridge. The rest of the funding is made up of a local funding package including a private sector contribution of over £5M and funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority chair Councillor Peter Box said: “A new rail station is a key element of the Kirkstall Forge development site. Together with a new rail station at Apperley Bridge, Kirkstall Forge station will support new jobs, reduce traffic on busy routes between Leeds and Bradford and ease traffic congestion on Leeds City Centre.”
