ByJonathan Kalmus, Jonathan Kalmus
The slump in the property development market is enabling a £1 million scheme to revamp Jewish youth facilities in Leeds to begin within months, earlier than organisers anticipated.
Alwoodley's Brodetsky Primary campus is to be transformed into a hub incorporating an expanded home for the Zone youth club, sports pitches and a school redevelopment featuring art, food technology and media rooms.
Leeds City Council has granted planning permission for the project, which had been expected to cost £1.5 million.
But Brodetsky governors' chair Alan Dunwell said the fall in property development costs had slashed the overall cost by one-third. "The project was priced two years ago when the market was in a different place," he explained.
"We already have £900,000 in communal donations. We had a meeting last week to talk about the progress and it's looking very healthy. We are very close to building."
The project was priced when the market was in a different place
There will be a parents meeting next week to discuss a renewed drive for a Jewish secondary school on Brodetsky's campus after the Department for Education rejected an application made under the free schools initiative.
Brodetsky's Dan Cohen, who is leading the high school project, said it would be "an update meeting to give feedback on the last application and how we intend to take the high school project forward".