Derelict railway arches near Leeds train station could be transformed into food and drink outlets

Plans to convert the boarded-up arches underneath the Swinegate railway bridge, just outside Leeds City Station, have been submitted to the council.

The Arch Company, which bought the arches from Network Rail in 2019, hopes to attract business tenants by converting the arches and their internal space.

A design statement by the company said the arches at 83-85 Swinegate could not be rented out in their current state of disrepair.

It said: “Arches 84 and 85 have previously been operating as a takeaway unit which has recently been stripped out and is now vacant.

“Arch 83 is vacant. All arches have fallen into disrepair.”

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Arch 83 has around 100 sqm of internal space which could be let to tenants, the report said. Arches 84 and 85 would be a single unit with around 160 sqm of usable internal space.

The new units, near the Moot Hall Arms and Scarborough Hotel pubs, would be open-plan, allowing future tenants to fit them out to their requirements.

The report said: “Each frontage is to have a new frontage of a modern design and aims to maximise the use of glazed openings with aluminium framed doors and windows.”

The Arch Company, which provides buildings for small-to-medium sized business (SMEs) said it had more than 5,000 properties, around half of which are converted railway arches.

The design statement said: “The Arch Company acquired Network Rail’s former commercial estate business in 2019 and is now engaging in a programme of renewal and improvement works of circa 900 railway arches of its newly-acquired portfolio.

“This will bring these units, which are currently vacant, back into beneficial use, securing improvements that will provide high-quality and modern space to meet the operational requirements of a range of SMEs.”