First look at plans for new Leeds council homes at site of former eyesore flats
The first pictures of the proposed development have been released
Plans for new council homes on the former site of an eyesore flats complex in Leeds have been unveiled.
Leeds City Council recently demolished the Kingsdale Court flats, in the Boggart Hill area of Seacroft, after acquiring them from private ownership.
The complex was blighted by poor housing conditions and dwindling occupancy levels for many years, as well as issues linked to crime and anti-social behaviour.
Now the council has submitted an application for planning permission for the 79 affordable homes it wants to build on the cleared site.
The proposed development would have 20 houses, each with two or three bedrooms, and a pair of buildings with a total of 59 one and two-bedroom apartments.
Pictures lodged with the planning application show the homes for the first time, which the council says would transform what was once an unsightly blot on the local landscape into a welcoming and sustainable neighbourhood.
The new properties – for rent by people on the council’s housing register – will have enhanced insulation, ground source heat pumps and photovoltaic solar panels, as well as electric vehicle infrastructure and bike storage facilities.
The landscaping design proposes new trees and ornamental planting, as well as a private garden for each house.
The council said the proposed mix of property types aims to reflect the specific housing needs of the Killingbeck & Seacroft council ward, where there is high demand for one and two-bedroomed homes.
Councillor Peter Carlill, Leeds City Council’s executive member for transport and planning, said: “A lot of hard work has already gone into our efforts to regenerate this site, where the privately-owned and now-demolished flats had been allowed to deteriorate and decay.
“It’s great news, therefore, that we have reached the point where we have been able to submit a planning application for its proposed housing scheme.
“If approved, these affordable homes will give their tenants the kind of security and stability that comes with having a safe, warm and welcoming place to live.
“They will also provide further proof of the value of our Council Housing Growth Programme and the positive difference it is making to communities across Leeds.”
If planning permission is approved, the scheme will be delivered via Leeds’ Council Housing Growth Programme (CHGP).
The CHGP has recently built 33-home scheme at Brooklands Avenue in Seacroft and a 55-home development in the Ambertons area of Gipton.
CHGP projects currently under construction include the Middlecross development in Armley, which will provide 65 apartments for affordable rent by people aged over 55 with care and support needs, and a scheme at Hough Top, in Swinnow, near Pudsey, which will deliver 82 homes, also for affordable rent.