Aire Park Signs First Food Tenant as Retail Begins

A growing Yorkshire bakery has taken space in the first commercial building at Aire Park, an early sign the retail layer of the flagship South Bank regeneration is filling in

The retail phase of one of Leeds’s biggest regeneration schemes is starting to take shape. Aire Park, the 24-acre mixed-use district being built on the former Tetley brewery site, has signed independent bakery Maughans as an early food-and-drink tenant. The Yorkshire firm is taking 2,282 sq ft on the ground floor of South Brook Street, the scheme’s first commercial building, and plans to open a deli this autumn. A notable marker that the amenity side of the development is beginning to populate alongside its offices, homes and park.

Why This Matters For Leeds

Big regeneration schemes live or die on whether everyday amenities arrive to support the offices and homes. They signal momentum and start to build the sense of place that attracts employers. For Leeds, Aire Park is one of the most significant developments in the city, and evidence its retail units are letting is a healthy sign for the wider South Bank regeneration. For a growing Yorkshire independent, prime space in a flagship scheme is a real vote of confidence in its expansion.

What Is Opening at Aire Park

Maughans, founded in Mirfield in 1945 and now running several sites including a bakery and store in Mirfield and an existing Leeds presence, will open a deli serving pastries, coffee, cakes and freshly made sandwiches. The venue is also intended as a community space, with a licensed bar and a programme of events including networking sessions, talks and workshops. It occupies the ground floor of South Brook Street, Aire Park‘s first commercial building, overlooking the Tetley building and the eight-acre public park at the heart of the development. The letting is part of a retail line-up the developer is assembling to complement the food and drink already in the area. No financial terms were disclosed. For the bakery, the move is the latest step in a steady expansion beyond its Mirfield base into Leeds city centre.

“Opening at Aire Park marks an exciting new chapter for us. We can’t wait to welcome residents, workers and visitors into our new space.”

— Billy Hall, Director, Maughans

The Bigger Picture at South Brook Street

The signing sits within a much larger regeneration. South Brook Street is the commercial district within Vastint UK’s transformation of the former Tetley brewery site, with buildings targeting top environmental ratings including BREEAM Excellent and EPC A. Once complete, the developer says the wider scheme will feature more than 800,000 sq ft of Grade A offices, creating space for over 10,000 workers, all arranged around what is billed as the UK’s largest new city-centre green space. Leeds Today has previously reported on the scheme’s Kellstone office building, and further ground-floor retail is planned across both South Brook Street and Kellstone. The arrival of amenities like Maughans is how a development of this scale gradually becomes a place people want to work and live, and each early letting adds to the momentum behind the wider South Bank regeneration.