Scarborough International Properties Limited (SIPL), the UK and international real estate developer and its joint venture partner Legal & General, officially opened The Springs, the 350,000 sq ft retail and leisure destination at Thorpe Park Leeds, yesterday (Thursday 11 October).
Retailers including M&S Foodhall, H&M, Next, TK Maxx, Outfit, Boots and leisure brands including Nando’s, Gino D’Acampo’s My Restaurant and Pure Gym opened their doors offering visitors to The Springs a variety of activities including giveaways and complimentary food from a selection of street vendors.
In addition to renowned high street brands, a 44,000 sq ft, 10-screen ODEON offering state of the art screen and audio technology and luxury seating, is due to open in Spring 2019 located adjacent to, and above the boulevard of restaurants within the leisure offering at The Springs. Further high street leisure and retail occupiers are due to be announced over the coming weeks.
Thorpe Park Leeds is an established business location with 800,000 sq ft of development built and occupied to date, including 600,000 sq ft of offices. A unique £162 million investment deal with Legal & General Capital in 2015 secured a transformational 1.35 million sq ft mixed-use expansion, bringing forward exceptional new business opportunities to the Leeds City Region.
Phase two includes the 350,000 sq ft retail and leisure park as well as a further 900,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation, 300 new residential homes by Redrow and a 113-acre public park with sports facilities.
Phase two also includes delivery of the first section of the ‘East Leeds Orbital Road’, a key piece of infrastructure connecting north and east Leeds to Junction 46 of the M1. This road will unlock land for the construction of up to 7,000 new homes in the East Leeds area, land that is either already allocated in the Local Plan or which is ‘brownfield’ land.
The award-winning development has dedicated access to Junction 46 of the M1 and has been chosen for the new railway station, ‘East Leeds Parkway’ and associated Park and Ride, connecting Thorpe Park Leeds directly to Leeds city centre in eight minutes. This forms part of a £270 million infrastructure investment into Leeds by the Department of Transport.
Ahead of the opening, Simon Marshall, Joint Chief Executive of Scarborough International Properties, commented: “We look forward to seeing our first retailers opening their doors at The Springs.
“Similar to prime shopping locations such as Manchester and London where people will continue to visit when they want a variety of choice and big stores, The Springs will provide a fantastic new retail and leisure offering for locals and visitors to Thorpe Park Leeds.”
Rachel Dickie, Director of Regeneration at Legal & General Capital, said: “The official opening of The Springs is an exciting milestone for Thorpe Park Leeds and establishes it as a unique and progressive mixed-use community, providing jobs, homes and now much sought-after amenities for the East of Leeds. The variety of new brands and choice at the scheme will set a new standard for the area and create a destination that people will want to keep coming back to.”