Leeds Central Viaduct

[xotGD]

Part of the old viaduct on the approach to where Leeds Central Station used to be (now an office park) is now open to the public. I checked it out at lunchtime:



This is looking towards where the station used to be. Very nice!

I looked for signs of old railway-related gubbins, and spotted this stuff:



Something to do with signaling?

There's also a hand-painted bridge number:



When construction is complete on a couple of new apartment blocks, the rest of the viaduct will become accessible, and be the pedestrian route in/out of the buildings.

 

[YorksLad12]

Thanks - I keep forgetting about that opening, even though I'm only five minutes away!

 

[yorksrob]

I definitely need to take stroll along there. Always wanted to since I started commuting around Leeds in the late 1990's !

 

[xotGD]

I definitely need to take stroll along there. Always wanted to since I started commuting around Leeds in the late 1990's !

Take a brew and a butty. You can sit and watch the world (including the trains) go by.

 

[yorkie]

When construction is complete on a couple of new apartment blocks, the rest of the viaduct will become accessible, and be the pedestrian route in/out of the buildings.

Do we have a rough estimate of when that will be? Also is there a map available showing which part is walkable?

We'll need to arrange this as part of a forum meet-up!

Edit: there seem to be two similar schemes in Leeds; Monk Bridge Viaduct and Holbeck Viaduct; I believe one referred to in this thread is the Monk Bridge scheme.

 

[xotGD]

Do we have a rough estimate of when that will be? Also is there a map available showing which part is walkable?

We'll need to arrange this as part of a forum meet-up!

Edit: there seem to be two similar schemes in Leeds; Monk Bridge Viaduct and Holbeck Viaduct; I believe one referred to in this thread is the Monk Bridge scheme.

Looking at the degree of progress on the apartment buildings, I reckon a few months before it will be fully open.

There are a couple of places to eat in the office park (had lunch in one of them), but I'm not sure about the quality of the ale!

 

[YorksLad12]

Do we have a rough estimate of when that will be? Also is there a map available showing which part is walkable?

We'll need to arrange this as part of a forum meet-up!

Edit: there seem to be two similar schemes in Leeds; Monk Bridge Viaduct and Holbeck Viaduct; I believe one referred to in this thread is the Monk Bridge scheme.

Was going to suggest the same, but it sounds more like a roof garden without the pub. Plenty of pubs nearby though.

Def Monk Bridge Viaduct, Holbeck leads into City, not Central. Gradually being surrounded by pointless blocks of flats (see also the Florentine chimney south of the station - except you can't see it because of the flats. Bah).

 

[P Binnersley]

AdventureMe has produced a YouTube video on walking the viaduct.

 

[xotGD]

Was going to suggest the same, but it sounds more like a roof garden without the pub. Plenty of pubs nearby though.

Def Monk Bridge Viaduct, Holbeck leads into City, not Central. Gradually being surrounded by pointless blocks of flats (see also the Florentine chimney south of the station - except you can't see it because of the flats. Bah).

There are supposed to be bars and places to eat getting built under the arches. We shall see.

 

[yoyothehobo]

Did you not find the old semaphore signal up there. It was there when i went up last month

 

[BrianW]

Was going to suggest the same, but it sounds more like a roof garden without the pub. Plenty of pubs nearby though.

Def Monk Bridge Viaduct, Holbeck leads into City, not Central. Gradually being surrounded by pointless blocks of flats (see also the Florentine chimney south of the station - except you can't see it because of the flats. Bah).

I doubt they are pointless for those looking for somewhere to live, esp with good location (including pubs and walk to work?)

 

[xotGD]

Did you not find the old semaphore signal up there. It was there when i went up last month

No - didn't see that. Was it in the area for public access or in the work site?

 

[YorksLad12]

I doubt they are pointless for those looking for somewhere to live, esp with good location (including pubs and walk to work?)

Well, true, and I do live in one such block. But they tend to be bought off-plan by investors so there's a high turnover of renters, which can be annoying. I think a lot will be student lets, though I don't know who the ultimate owners are. I'm just annoyed we're going down the Manchester route and hiding parts of the historic centre from general view.

I am, also, looking forward to taking my camera out one lunchtime

 

[BrianW]

Well, true, and I do live in one such block. But they tend to be bought off-plan by investors so there's a high turnover of renters, which can be annoying. I think a lot will be student lets, though I don't know who the ultimate owners are. I'm just annoyed we're going down the Manchester route and hiding parts of the historic centre from general view.

I am, also, looking forward to taking my camera out one lunchtime

A matter of economics. Investors, renters, students, turnover ... signs of the times. I hear that a woman on the 'average wage' for a renting woman cannot afford an average rent, or mortgage. It's Bank of Mum and Dad, inheritance and investment. Government is tweaking (increasing) Landlord responsibilities and making it harder to 're-possess'/ evict, and what was attractive about buying to let as a hedge against inflation is becoming less attractive. Perhaps increasing savers' rates will reduce the atractivenes of buying to rent as an investment. Time will come when students twig that a degree is not a route to prosperity; or wil study at/from home- the tech is there as Covid showed. Hopefully heritage will still be visible- it's rare these days to lose it entirely- and the Hi-Line will give new perspectives. Enjoy.

What will happen to the UK rental market in 2023? | The Week UK

Why have rents been rising and which areas are the cheapest?

www.theweek.co.uk

 

[yoyothehobo]

No - didn't see that. Was it in the area for public access or in the work site?

When i went it was slightly obscured by some scaffold if i recall correctly. It was on the north side of the viaduct about half way along, attached to the wall.

 

[xotGD]

When i went it was slightly obscured by some scaffold if i recall correctly. It was on the north side of the viaduct about half way along, attached to the wall.

Thanks. If I have time tomorrow I'll go back and have another look.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Jun 2023 ==

Update: I can confirm that the signal gantry is still there - partly hidden behind scaffolding.