Victorian Engine Shed to Become Padel Venue as Roundhouse Plan Approved

**Ollo Padel wins consent to restore the vacant Grade II* landmark, bringing Southbank Provisions and gym operator Northbound to a three-acre site**

A Victorian engine shed that has stood empty since 2022 is set for an unlikely second life. Leeds City Council’s west plans panel has approved Ollo Padel’s scheme to convert the Leeds Roundhouse, the Grade II* listed railway building on Wellington Road, into a padel, fitness and hospitality venue. The three-acre site will get nine outdoor doubles courts under a 10-metre canopy, plus an indoor coaching court inside the building itself. Construction is expected to start later this year, with the venue aiming to open in early 2027.

Why This Matters For Leeds

Vacant listed buildings are among the hardest assets in Leeds to bring back into use; restoration costs are high and consents can be difficult. This one now has a viable long-term occupier, an anchor operator and two established Leeds businesses signed up to trade from it, turning a heritage liability into a working commercial asset. It also brings activity to a prominent but underused approach into the city. For owners of similar buildings across Leeds, the value here is the proof that a credible model exists.

What is Planned for the Leeds Roundhouse

Built in 1847 for the Leeds and Thirsk Railway Company, the Roundhouse once housed the steam locomotives that powered industrial Leeds. It was most recently a van and car rental depot, and has been vacant since 2022. Ollo’s plans, drawn up with BHB Architects, keep the building at the centre: alongside the coaching court, the interior will hold a gym, pilates studio, sauna, meeting rooms, events space and a cafe, with 75 parking spaces on site. Two established Leeds names are coming in as operators. Southbank Provisions, the independent hospitality team behind Headrow House, Belgrave Music Hall and Galleria, will run the kitchen and bar, while fitness specialists Northbound will run the gym, bringing strength and conditioning, Hyrox and pilates. The approval covers planning permission and listed building consent, subject to conditions and a Section 106 agreement.

“The Roundhouse is one of the most special buildings in Leeds. It deserves a future, not just a past.”

— Will Linley, Co-founder, Ollo Padel

A Heritage Building Back in Business

Bringing a Grade II* building back into use is rarely straightforward, and this scheme follows an earlier proposal that stalled in 2023. Planning officers judged that the benefits outweighed the harm: the restoration, the removal of unsympathetic modern additions and a permanent use for the building were set against the impact of the new courts and partitioning. For the city, an empty landmark on a prominent approach road becomes an occupied, revenue-generating destination, with a clubhouse pitched at co-working and events as much as sport. It also plugs two Leeds operators into a new site. Padel is one of Britain’s fastest-growing sports, and the Leeds Roundhouse gives the city a venue built around it at scale.