Wetherspoons has finally applied for pub licence for £1.5 million property on Headingley Lane it purchased in 2014.

The former Sunday school, designed by Leeds architect William Peel Schofield, opened 1914 and later became the music and arts block for Leeds Girls Grammar School, named the Elinor Lupton centre. The site has been empty since 2010 after the school closed. The building was originally sought after by community campaigners who planned to use it for local purposes as a social enterprise.

Wetherspoons told The Yorkshire Evening Post that they “were attracted to the building due to its architectural interest as this fits in with [our] standard model of bringing historical buildings back into use”. Whilst the company looks to keep changes limited they are going to install a balcony area whilst keeping the internal parts of the site intact. The company went onto say that, “The building has been left without maintenance for five years and requires intervention. Without such works, the building and surrounding site will stand unused and be subject to more vandalism and continue to be an eyesore to passers-by.”

Emma, a first-year Fine Art student, said that she feels it’s a “wasted opportunity for a beautiful building, but I won’t complain about a Wetherspoons that close to me”. Due to it’s location, it’s likely to become a prime Otley Run stop, and many local pub owners have expressed fears the Wetherspoons will divert customers from their own establishments.

Christopher Tobin

(Image: The Gryphon)