Trinity Leeds

Coordinates: 53°47′49″N 1°32′42″W / 53.797°N 1.545°W / 53.797; -1.545

Trinity Leeds

The interior of the centre on opening day.
Location	Leeds city centre, Leeds, United Kingdom
Address	LS1 5ER
Opening date	21 March 2013
Developer	Land Securities
Owner	Land Securities
Architect	Chapman Taylor
No. of stores and services	120+
No. of anchor tenants	9
Total retail floor area	92,903 m2 (1,000,000 sq ft)
Parking	None
No. of floors	6
Website	http://www.trinityleeds.com

Trinity Leeds is a shopping and leisure centre in Leeds, England, named after the adjacent 18th-century Holy Trinity Church. It opened on 21 March 2013, with over 130,000 recorded visitors on opening day.^[1] The development is in two parts: Trinity East, a new build development on the site of the former Trinity and Burton Arcades, and Trinity West, the redeveloped Leeds Shopping Plaza. The development has a catchment of 5.5 million people offering a spend of £1.93 billion annually.^[2] It will lift Leeds from seventh to fourth in the CACI UK retail rankings^[3] and create over 3000 jobs.^[4]

The combined scheme has 93,000 m² (1,000,000 sq ft) of retail floor space for 120 stores anchored by the flagship Marks & Spencer and Topshop/Topman stores. These units exist as standalone stores and are being expanded and remodelled into Trinity Leeds.

The shopping centre has a concept food area in Trinity West, namely "Trinity Kitchen", hosting both permanent tenants and will inviting rotating "pop-up" vendors.^[5] In Trinity East, YO! Sushi, Carluccio's, Giraffe and Handmade Burger Co. opened. D&D London opened two restaurants, their first in the UK outside London. Everyman Cinemas opened its first premises outside London, a 3,700 m² (40,000 sq ft) four screen art-house cinema.

Trinity has attracted ten international retailers new to the UK market whose names are yet to be released. A 9,900 m² (107,000 sq ft) Primark will open in Trinity West in Summer 2013. Costing Land Securities £350m,^[6] the development was 66% let a year before opening. It is the only major retail development under construction in the United Kingdom and the only new retail development to be completed in 2013. The Lead Architect for Trinity Leeds is Chapman Taylor.

Background

The existing M&S branch to be expanded on Briggate

Leeds Shopping Plaza, now Trinity West

Since around 2000 plans were made to redevelop the adjacent Trinity and Burton Arcades a largely run down shopping precinct which opened in 1973 into a modern shopping centre using designs by the late Enric Miralles under the name Trinity Quarter. However this had been long delayed because of arguments at planning between the then owners of both centres Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) (owner of the Trinity and Burton arcades) and Topps Estates owner of the Leeds Shopping Plaza which included Topps Estates objecting the scheme and lodging its own rival scheme on the site.

However more recently following the sale of Topps Estates to Land Securities and the change in ownership of the Trinity and Burton Arcades to Caddick Group and following the granting of a Compulsory purchase order by Leeds City Council the process of constructing the centre was finally realised.

The development is a combination of several older developments including Leeds Shopping Plaza, which has been rebranded and remodelled as Trinity West. It was built as an independent shopping centre surrounded by the streets of Bond Street, Albion Street, Boar Lane and Lower Basinghall Street. It opened in 1977 as the Bond Street Centre on a site formerly occupied by Victorian-era buildings and was refurbished in 1996 which included giving the centre its present name, expanding the trading area to 25,000 m² (270,000 sq ft) . Ownership of the Centre was transferred in 2005 when its then owners Topps Estates were bought by property giant Land Securities who also own the White Rose Centre, a large out-of-town shopping centre in Leeds.

The new build part of Trinity, Trinity East, was formerly occupied by the Trinity & Burton Arcades, a 70s development that included both open air and undercover parts.

Construction

Construction in June 2012 as seen from Briggate.

The first part of the centre to open is a new Topshop and Topman seen here shortly after opening in December 2012.

Extensive preparation works were required, including the demolition of the previous development and frontages on Briggate, Albion Street and Boar Lane. Site clearance was complete by 2008, but development was delayed due to the 2007–2012 Global Financial Crisis, but recommenced in 2010. Contractor Laing O'Rourke estimates that over 1000 construction workers worked on Trinity Leeds.^[4]

Initial construction started at Trinity East, where four tower cranes were used in its construction. Redevelopment of the Topshop/Topman store commenced in February 2012 after Topman and Topshop moved to temporary stores elsewhere in the city and was completed in December 2012.

A 3,716 m² (40,000 sq ft) glass dome is the centrepiece of Trinity East. Designed by SKM Anthony Hunts, its 1902 glass panels rise 30.5 m (100 ft) above street level.^[7] The dome is built on a steel framework, and during construction was supported on an immense scaffold structure, which when removed in early 2012 resulted in the dome sinking 20mm.^[8] The dome is large enough to fit the Corn Exchange under it.^[9]

Major works started at Trinity West in 2011 to remodel the centre's interior. Boar Lane Bus Point closed to create a new pavement and external remodelling involved removing cladding. A tower crane facilitated upward extensions to accommodate the flagship Primark store. Proposals were revealed for a media screen on the exterior of Trinity West.^[10]

Arts

The sculpture Equus Altus - a packhorse carrying cloth

The sculpture The Briggate Minerva, goddess of weaving and commerce, wearing an owl mask, outside the Briggate entrance of the centre.

Equus Altus, a sculpture of a packhorse carrying a roll of cloth, dominates the central court, and The Briggate Minerva, stands outside the centre's entrance on Briggate. Both are by Scottish sculptor Andy Scott. Packhorses were used to transport goods, in particular cloth, to and from Leeds: the artist said "My thoughts behind it were about the history of Leeds and the wool and textile industries and how horses were used as the HGV at the time".^[11] Minerva was the Roman goddess of both commerce and weaving, making her appropriate to this site in a city with a strong heritage of textiles, and wears an owl mask, one of the symbols of the city.^[12][13] Equus Altus is 5 metres (16 ft) tall, weighs 2 tonnes, and stands on a 10 metres (33 ft) steel column. The two statues were installed in March 2013, having taken 10 months to create.^[14]

Trinity plans to have a programme of permanent and public art in the centre.^[15] Projects undertaken, include the 2.8 Days Later film project in November 2011 run in conjunction with local production companies and Everyman Cinemas.^[16]

Parking

The former NCP Boar lane car park is now refurbished and re-branded as the Trinity car park. Parking starts from £2.80 an Hour.

See also

• Cabot Circus, a similar development in Bristol also by Taylor Chapman.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trinity Quarter, Leeds.

• Official website