Property operator adds heat to city development

A developer, property manager and lettings agent is combining the old with the new in a £40 million city scheme.

Pickard Properties is fitting a ground source heating system to the Spinning Acres development.

Bosses say the investment will provide heat and hot water to the 19th century Moor Grange and Moorfield Lodge villas in Far Headingley, Leeds.

The work forms part of a £5 million refurbishment programme to transform Moor Grange into six apartments and two houses, and Moorfield Lodge into six apartments.

The regeneration of the former University of Leeds estate is being overseen by Weetwood-based C&AJ Marshall Builders.

Moorfield Lodge was built on land awarded to Leeds cloth merchant George Bischoff under the 1829 Headingley Moor Inclosure Act, with Moor Grange once home to Professor Arthur Mayo-Robson, a former professor of surgery at the Yorkshire College.

Miles Pickard, director of Headingley-based Pickard Properties, said: “Spinning Acres is about breathing new life into historic buildings while ensuring they are sustainable and efficient for future generations.

“The installation of ground source heat pumps at Moor Grange and Moorfield Lodge reflects our belief that heritage and sustainability can – and should – go hand in hand.”

The heating system was designed and installed by Truro, Exeter and Bradford-based Kensa.

Iain Carr, pre-construction director at Kensa, which is partly owned by Legal & General and Octopus Energy Generation, added: “It’s fantastic to see sustainable heating technology being integrated into buildings of such architectural and historical importance.

“This collaboration with Pickard Properties demonstrates how innovation can help protect the legacy of the past while delivering a greener future.”

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