Member Article

Create Yorkshire highly commended for planning excellence

Create Yorkshire, a scheme to deliver a major new creative hub in Leeds, was named highly commended at prestigious regional planning awards.

The scheme was recognised in this year’s RTPI Yorkshire Awards for Planning Excellence. The annual awards champion the very best examples of planning and planners in the region, demonstrate the positive impact planning has on the quality of life and celebrate professional expertise.

Landowner Makin Enterprises sought a major creative digital and media hub as well as a permanent film and TV studio complex. The 750,000 sq ft development at the former RAF base to the east of Leeds, is already home to Yorkshire’s largest film studio and where parts of the hit TV drama Victoria are filmed.

Pegasus Group led a multi-disciplinary team that took the scheme from an initial concept to a planning application and has been a showcase for the services that we provide (planning, design, landscape, heritage and economic).

Back in April, Create Yorkshire received unanimous backing from Selby District Council’s planning committee, and builds on the success of Church Fenton Studios and the content of the Council’s Economic Development Framework.

The Judges comment on Create Yorkshire include: “Create Yorkshire is an excellent example of the redevelopment of a major brownfield site and highlights Yorkshire and Humber as the fastest growing region for film and TV. This is a project which will deliver significant economic, social and environmental benefits to both Selby and Yorkshire.”

Chris Calvert, Executive Director at Pegasus Group, attended the award ceremony and said: “This is the second major award that the scheme was shortlisted for, and we are extremely proud to receive a highly commended.

“The site is already home to a major studio complex and a recent influx of small creative businesses and with this new development we expect it will eventually support nearly 2,000 high quality jobs in creative, digital and media sectors.

“The successful masterplan was developed through a multidisciplinary approach with Pegasus Group and Selby District Council coming together at strategic economic level to provide a framework for collaborative working.”

Pegasus Group collaborated with a number of organisations on the project, including Screen Yorkshire, North Yorkshire County Council, North Yorkshire and Leeds Local Enterprise Partnerships and Historic England. Specialist advice was provided by Scott Royal of Royal Pilgrim Communications, supported by WSP, Alan Wood and Partners and Wright Environment.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Taylor .