Nigel J.Hetherington

Good News Friday: The Grade II listed 1930s Art Deco North Concourse at Leeds Station is set to be restored to its full original length, following the announcement of a £303 million investment by the government to upgrade the UK’s third busiest station outside of London. Designed in 1931 by W Curtis Green and WH Hamlyn, architects to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, the spacious and modern North Concourse connected two existing and separate stations: New Station and Wellington Station. They were joined in 1938 to create a single Leeds City Station, with the concourse also connecting via an arcade to the rebuilt Art Deco LMS Queens Hotel. The 10 bays of the concourse are defined by gently curving concrete buttresses that rise to cross beams, Luxcrete glass-block skylights in a coffered concrete ceiling, and bronze pendant lamps. The south-west facing walls are lined with alternating glazing and raised advertising panels, originally depicting painterly scenes of the Yorkshire landscape. Leeds City Station was completely rebuilt in 1967, creating a new south concourse that became the main area for shops, refreshment rooms, and the ticket office. This new ticket office was partly constructed within the North Concourse, obscuring the last two bays and covering the original coffered ceiling above. Thereafter the majestic North Concourse was reduced to being an indoor car park for the next 30 years. Between 1997 and 2002, Leeds City Station underwent another significant rebuilding and refurbishment, with the North Concourse exquisitely restored to its former glory by Carey Jones architects, and brought back into use as a retail and food court for the station. However the 1960s ticket office remained and the last two bays were still hidden from public view, until now. Under the new scheme, the old ticket office will be removed and the hidden bays finally opened up to become entrances to a new, expanded concourse, set to open by 2031.