New homes set to ease housing pressures

Construction work is set to start on a scheme that will ease housing pressures in Leeds by providing dozens of affordable council homes.

Leeds City Council secured planning permission last month for the scheme, which will see a total of 82 high-quality and energy efficient homes being built on a former school site at Hough Top, in Swinnow, near Pudsey.

And, with work to prepare the site for development now well under way, it is anticipated that the main phase of construction could begin as soon as next month.

The scheme – which is being delivered via Leeds’s Council Housing Growth Programme (CHGP) – will comprise 55 houses and 27 apartments, with a mix of one, two, three and four bedrooms.

They will be suitable for adaptation and fitted with air source heat pumps, a sustainable heating solution that will help cut carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty.

The properties will all be made available for affordable rent, giving an important helping hand to families in a part of Leeds that has significant housing needs.

The development is due to be delivered for the council by construction and property services company Willmott Dixon and will benefit the wider community by creating a range of employment, skills and apprenticeship opportunities.

More than 500 hours of careers support are set to be provided for young people during the scheme’s construction phase, with one local school leaver having already secured a full-time apprenticeship with Willmott Dixon.

The company has been leading the pre-construction work at the 2.5-hectare site, which has lain empty since the demolition of the former Hough Side High School buildings in 2021 and 2022.

Located in an established residential area, it was earmarked for housing use in Leeds’s Site Allocations Plan, a key planning policy document adopted by the council in 2019.

Residents and ward councillors have been kept informed about recent activity at Hough Top, with a newsletter containing details of the start of the pre-construction work being sent to more than 220 local homes.

The bulk of the funding for the scheme – scheduled for completion in late 2026 – is being provided by the council’s housing service via Right to Buy receipts and borrowing, with £1.64m of grant support due to come from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Fund.

Councillor Jess Lennox, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said: “We are determined to ensure that everyone in Leeds is able to enjoy the stability and security that comes with a good-quality home, with the increased provision of affordable housing having a central part to play in that.

“It’s really encouraging news, therefore, that the main phase of construction work on the residential development at Hough Top is due to begin shortly.

“These affordable homes will make a hugely positive difference to people’s lives, and will bring back into use an allocated housing site that has good access to public transport, green space and local services.

“Schemes such as this one are particularly important in a ward like Pudsey, where we know there is a very high demand for affordable housing.

“The start of construction will be another landmark achievement for our Council Housing Growth Programme, which is working – with the support of partners – to change communities across our city for the better.”

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: "I’m delighted we’re bringing more high-quality homes to west Leeds.

"We believe that having a safe and secure place to live is a fundamental right, which is why we’re investing vital funds to deliver thousands of much-needed homes across West Yorkshire.

"Together with our partners like Leeds City Council, we’re dedicated to building a greener, more secure region for future generations."

More than 350 new homes have been built via the council’s CHGP since 2018. More than 340 homes have also been acquired as part of the programme, with these properties and the new-builds both playing a crucial role in the council’s efforts to ease local affordable housing pressures.

Furthermore, they have – by increasing the number of appropriate properties available to tenants looking to downsize – helped free up some homes that are best suited to larger families.

The provision of additional social housing stock is seen as a vital way of driving inclusive growth and improving the population’s general health and wellbeing.

The quality of the homes being built through the CHGP has received regional and national recognition, with the Tarnside & Mardale development in Seacroft and the Throstle Rec and Gascoigne House scheme in Middleton both winning industry awards.