Yorkshire-based property company Rushbond Group has secured planning permission to redevelop the Bank House building.
The developer is planning to refurbish the 90,000 sq ft building, which it bought last year, to create Grade A office space. Plans also include an internal extension and the creation of a multi-level central atrium.
The former bank vaults at lower ground floor will be repurposed to create a new auditorium, and those on the ground floor into a suite of meeting rooms. Rushbond also has plans to substantially restore the exterior and create a new roof level business lounge and terrace.
Located on the corner of King Street and Park Place, Bank House is described as having “an ambitious, European Brutalist-style” design, clad in Cornish granite. It was designed by Building Design Partnership (BDP) and constructed between 1969 and 1971 specifically for the Bank of England. It was given Grade II listed status in 2015.
Rushbond’s redevelopment is expected to start in 2026, when the building becomes vacant, and to complete in mid-2027.
Rushbond surveyor Richard Baker said: “For more than 50 years, Bank House has been a landmark in the heart of the city’s commercial and financial district, and our planned redevelopment will ensure it meets the requirements of modern businesses. Rushbond’s long-term vision for Bank House is for a sensitive, best in class redevelopment which respects the significance of the building. The demand for Grade ‘A’ office space in Leeds remains strong and Bank House will deliver sustainable, energy efficient workspace to the highest design standards rich in occupier amenities – attracting a new generation of occupiers to be part of its future.”
The five-storey Bank House adds to Rushbond’s growing commercial portfolio of iconic buildings in Leeds. Its previous projects include converting the old Majestic cinema into the national headquarters for Channel 4, refurbishment of the Grade I listed Leeds Corn Exchange, and First White Cloth Hall – a Grade II listed building on Kirkgate that has been converted into new workspace.
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