Former Emmerdale Mill set to create 600 new jobs

600 new jobs are expected to be created at the Sunny Bank Mills complex in Farsley, near Leeds, after Leeds city Council gave the go-ahead for an ambitious new build.

Once featured in Emmerdale and Heartbeat, the historical mill complex is being rebuilt by a high-quality regeneration programme to produce working and living space.

John and William Gaunt, the owners and directors, have invested £4 million in Sunny Bank Mills over the past six years to regenerate the 10-acre site and to once again become the prime employer in Farsley.

The multi-million pound remodelling and regeneration of the rest of the Mill estate, which includes 210,000 sq ft of mixed-use development and space for 600 sustainable jobs, has now been given the greenlight by Leeds planners.

John Gaunt said: “We have already created 250 jobs at Sunny Bank Mills, with more than 50 companies on site. This next phase, which will be developed over the next few years, will create many more and regenerate these lovely old buildings. We now have the flexibility, the time and the confidence to deliver a sustainable future for Sunny Bank Mills.

“The 210,000 sq ft of development will comprise 65,000 sq ft of new build and 145,000 sq ft of regenerated mill buildings, where we will see living space as well as office, retail and leisure. The mill woodland has been protected and the remodelled mill ponds will provide fantastic amenity space for everyone who lives and works here.”

The Sunny Bank Mills complex, which the Gaunt family have owned for nearly two centuries, is being significantly renovated to provide quality space within an environment surrounded in heritage for SMEs in West Yorkshire.

William Gaunt added: “We believe very strongly that we must preserve the legacy of Sunny Bank Mills for future generations. We are wholly our committed to the site and to the Farsley community, encouraging the community to become involved in what we are doing here.

“We have retained and refurbished existing historic buildings such as Sandsgate, the Mending Rooms and the 1912 Mill, where Yorkshire Television filmed Emmerdale and Heartbeat, to create new jobs and make Sunny Bank Mills the economic powerhouse of Farsley once again.

“I think the pedigree of business which has relocated here already reflects the quality of the refurbishments being undertaken and that even in a challenging commercial property market, Sunny Bank Mills and Farsley can succeed in its mission of being a creative space for business.”

Rachel Slater of Leeds-based architects Kilmartin Plowman and Partners, who have worked closely with the Gaunts, also commented: “The mixture of uses, including retail, offices, studios and residential, will allow The Gaunts to offer and deliver a sustainable development with further employment opportunities at the heart of a thriving village.

“Kilmartin Plowman & Partners have much experience in master planning large mixed use developments. However the unique opportunity to be involved with Sunny Bank Mills regeneration from its inception has been a remarkable experience, which continues to challenge and engage us.”

Mike Haigh of Leeds-based property consultants Dove Haigh Phillips, who are joint marketing agents of the site with the Leeds office of JLL, said: “This is a genuinely exciting development. Steeped in history and with massive potential, Sunny Bank Mills is becoming one of the prime business locations in the West Leeds area. The lettings so far underline this.

“The mix of historic buildings with first-class modern business facilities is a winning combination, whilst the location, in between Leeds and Bradford, close to Yorkshire’s superb motorway network, one mile from the nearest station and just five miles from Leeds- Bradford Airport, is perfect.”

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