The Society urges the owners, who have left the site unused for nearly twenty years, to propose a development scheme before it is too late.
Grade II*-listed, 1842, William Fairbairn
The Hunslet Mill and Victoria Works is a significant multi-storey complex of redbrick mill buildings, and arguably the last, and the largest, of Leeds’s great flax-spinning mills. William Fairbairn, who designed Hunslet, was a leading designer of industrial buildings and was responsible for the mill and model village at Saltaire outside Bradford, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Regrettably, after falling out of use in the 1970s the buildings have remained vacant; and are now at risk of rapid deterioration, with water ingress threatening their structural integrity. The developers who have owned the mills for the last twenty years have consistently argued that development is not economically viable, pointing to the fate of its western range, which needed to be demolished in 1986. Thankfully, it is now being treated as a priority case by Leeds City Council and Historic England, and a survey is underway to assess its condition and develop a plan for its sustainable use; but if the developer fails to properly maintain the building or undertake urgent repairs there will be little left to develop.
Griff Rhys Jones, The Victorian Society Vice President, said ‘These are buildings that need help, and we need your help. Inclusion in the Society’s Top Ten often leads to national exposure and new interest in the buildings selected which can help save them’.
Director of the The Victorian Society, Christopher Costelloe, said ‘We’re grateful to everyone who nominated the Hunslet Mill and Victoria Works. Like all the buildings included in this year’s Top Ten, it is a listed building meaning that the Government has recognised its national importance. The Council are to be commended for prioritising the building but the owners need to act soon. I urge the public to share the Top Ten, and Griff’s message, to help raise awareness of the situation and help the mills find the investment they so desperately need.’
Status Update / March 2026
In 2017, a project to restore and convert the building into a high-density residential complex was approved by Leeds City Council, and construction started that same year. Completed in 2022 at a cost of £50 million, the development is comprised of 358 one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, arranged across a combination of newbuild and converted buildings. Historic England praised the developer for their uncompromising ‘vision and commitment’, acknowledging the commercial success of the scheme.