Sustainable Leeds development reaches “exemplar” construction milestone

MEPC has welcomed senior figures for a steel signing ceremony at its 11 & 12 Wellington Place development in Leeds.

The event, which saw attendees sign their names on the final steel beam to be put in place, celebrated a key milestone in the building’s progress before its anticipated completion later this year.

The steel signing event saw around 40 public and private sector stakeholders given a tour of the pioneering building and opportunity to hear from those behind the scheme about the strength of its sustainability credentials.

11 & 12 Wellington Place, which sets a new milestone for sustainable development in the region, will incorporate a link bridge between its two main buildings, metallic bronze facade and a living green wall, and will offer a total of 254,879 sq ft of “BREEAM Outstanding” office space, with a gym and leisure and retail space at lower levels.

11 & 12 Wellington Place will generate less than 50 per cent of the CO2 emissions in use when compared to a typical new build office, reducing to 100 per cent less following the successful procurement of a fully renewable energy tariff, enabling the building to meet the UKGBC net zero carbon operational energy standard and save a forecasted 407 tonnes of CO2 annually.

Once completed, it will run entirely on renewable electricity, benefiting from 7,500 sq ft of on-site, roof mounted solar panels that will generate the equivalent annual electricity of over 42 homes. Carbon will also be offset through electric vehicle charging points, the provision of 140 cycle spaces, as well as onsite vegetable patches, beehives and fruit trees.

Paul Pavia, commercial director at MEPC, the developer and asset manager behind Wellington Place, said: “MEPC is incredibly pleased to celebrate this milestone at 11 & 12 Wellington Place and to share it with many friends and colleagues.

“Work is progressing well, and we’re proud that 11 & 12 Wellington Place will set the benchmark for future-proofed, sustainable development, both in Yorkshire and across the UK. The development received really positive feedback during the steel signing ceremony, and we’re already receiving good levels of interest from potential occupiers.”

Andy Wates, director at Wates Group, which is delivering the scheme, added: “Wellington Place, including 11 & 12, is built for the long-term benefit of Leeds and wider region and Wates is privileged to be continuing our strong partnership with MEPC on this latest exemplar build.”