The 24-acre transformation of the former Tetley brewery site — around 1,350 rental homes, close to 1 million sq ft of workspace, and what is set to be the UK's largest new city-centre park.
Aire Park is the redevelopment of the former Tetley brewery site on Leeds' South Bank by Vastint UK — the property group related to the founders of IKEA. Beer was brewed here from 1822 until 2011; the 24-acre brownfield site sat largely unused until Leeds City Council approved Vastint's outline masterplan in 2017.
The finished neighbourhood is planned around three things: an 8-acre public park — on track to be the UK's largest new city-centre park — around 1,350 homes, and close to 1 million sq ft of workspace, retail and leisure. Two heritage buildings anchor the scheme: The Tetley, the 1930s Art Deco former brewery headquarters, and the retained Salem Chapel.
The single most important fact about Aire Park: every home is being built for rent, not sale. If you are researching it as a purchase or buy-to-let opportunity, there is nothing here to buy — but plenty here that affects the value and rental market of everything around it.
The park is the point of Aire Park — it is the amenity every home and office is arranged around, and it is being delivered first, unlike most schemes where green space arrives last. The first areas opened through 2025: the Tetley Triangle event space, Tetley Green and the Theatre Gardens, with exercise routes and space for outdoor events. Around 700 trees are being planted across the 8 acres.
The Tetley building itself is being refurbished and extended with new retail, leisure and event space, and the scheme includes the David Oluwale Bridge, a new foot and cycle crossing of the River Aire connecting the South Bank to the city centre.
Why it matters to renters and owners nearby: park frontage is the rarest amenity in central Leeds. When a genuinely large park opens next to existing neighbourhoods — Leeds Dock, Hunslet, the wider South Bank — it tends to lift the desirability of everything within walking distance, not just the homes inside the scheme.
Vastint states that Aire Park will offer around 1,350 apartments for rent in a range of sizes, all furnished, with a proportion delivered as affordable housing through a dedicated provider. The first homes are forecast to be ready in 2028. Nothing is available to rent yet and rents have not been published.
≈ HHUK Estimated Given the park setting, new-build quality and furnished, professionally-managed model, we expect Aire Park to launch at a premium to the Leeds city-centre average — this is the pattern established by comparable build-to-rent schemes across the city. For today's actual numbers, see our Leeds rental market intelligence and what you need to earn to rent in Leeds.
Planning a 2028 move? Register interest directly with Aire Park when lettings open, and treat 2028 as a forecast, not a promise — first-generation completions on major masterplans slip more often than not. If you need a Leeds rental sooner, start with the best areas to rent in Leeds.
Aire Park sits on the South Bank, bounded by Crown Point Road, Black Bull Street and the A61, with Leeds Dock as its neighbour and the river between it and the city centre. The South Bank is the biggest regeneration story in Leeds — our full South Bank regeneration guide covers the wider picture this scheme anchors.
≈ HHUK Estimated Walking times: roughly 10–15 minutes to Leeds railway station and under 10 minutes into the retail core, improving as the David Oluwale Bridge and new routes knit the South Bank into the centre. For the trade-offs of central living, see living in Leeds city centre.
You cannot buy an apartment at Aire Park. The homes are institutionally owned rentals — there is no off-plan purchase, no buy-to-let opportunity, and no resale market inside the scheme. Any listing claiming to sell Aire Park apartments deserves deep scepticism.
The investment relevance is indirect, and real:
No. All ~1,350 homes are being built for rent only, owned and managed long-term by the developer. There is no off-plan sale, buy-to-let purchase or internal resale market.
Vastint's stated forecast is 2028 for the first homes, with the wider masterplan reported to complete around 2032. Treat these as forecasts — large schemes commonly slip.
Vastint UK, the property company related to IKEA's founding family. Unusually, it builds to hold and operate rather than to sell — which is why the homes are rental-only.
The first areas — Tetley Triangle, Tetley Green and the Theatre Gardens — opened from 2025, with the full 8-acre park set to be the UK's largest new city-centre park on completion.
The Tetley brewery, which brewed in Leeds from 1822 until 2011. The Art Deco Tetley headquarters building and Salem Chapel are both retained within the new neighbourhood.
Aire Park is the first Leeds profile in our Property Intelligence database — the South Bank regeneration guide and Leeds rental intelligence above give the wider context, and more Leeds developments are on our research list.
This guide will be updated as rents are published, the final phase is confirmed and first lettings open. Follow Hall's Homes UK to catch updates as Aire Park progresses and we confirm them.