Affordable housing scheme is fitting tribute to Leeds trailblazer who changed lives

Yorkshire housing association 54North Homes celebrated the opening of a flagship scheme with a ceremony attended by dozens of guests.

Leonora House, a £12m development comprising 28 one-bedroom, 25 two-bedroom and five three-bedroom apartments, is bringing 58 high-quality flats for social rent to Leeds.

The building, named after Leeds-born textile worker and suffragette Leonora Cohen OBE (1873-1978), is on Railway Street near the city centre.

Mark Pearson, managing director of 54North Homes, said:

“I’m really proud that we’ve delivered this flagship scheme. It’s going to make a big difference to the lives of its residents and is another step forward in tackling the shortage of affordable housing.

“Our development team have done an incredible job and I pay tribute to them for bringing this scheme to fruition.

“I’d also like to thank all the stakeholders, including Leeds City Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, for their invaluable contribution to this project.”

Guests toured the complex, which has communal areas decorated in the green, purple and cream colours of the suffragette movement.

In a stairwell, there is an information board about milliner Leonora Cohen’s remarkable life, in which she was a bodyguard for Emmeline Pankhurst and later went on hunger strike while serving a jail sentence at Armley Prison in Leeds.

And in a further nod, Leonora House’s exterior is a subtle patchwork of three different types of brick, intended to symbolise the textile industry.

Meanwhile, each floor of Leonora House has its own dementia-friendly colour scheme.

This complies with new standards for dementia-friendly homes adopted by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), which can be found here.

The development also boasts charging points for electric vehicles, a bicycle storage area, landscaped gardens, car parking and solar panels on the roof.

Contractor Caddick Construction built Leonora House to a high specification, including an apartment designed for a wheelchair user.

Joanna Chambers, director of assets and growth at 54North Homes, said:

“We’re thrilled Leonora House is complete and ready to welcome its first residents in time for Christmas.

“A lot of thought has gone into this development, and it’s great that so many people from a variety of organisations, including other housing associations, came to see how a high-quality scheme like this can be delivered.”

The new scheme crowns a £26.5m investment in new properties over the last 18 months for 54North Homes, which is part of the Karbon Homes Group.

Councillor Jess Lennox, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said:

“As part of our focus on driving regeneration activity that can deliver benefits for everyone, we want to ensure new residential developments in Leeds cater for different housing needs.

“I’m therefore delighted that we’ve been able to use affordable housing funding to support this scheme and secure new homes that are being let for low-cost social rent.

“It’s really pleasing, too, that all the initial tenancies at Leonora House have been offered to people on our housing register, which highlights how we’re using our local partnerships to take meaningful action on the national housing emergency.

“The development also promises to be a fitting tribute to the life and legacy of Leonora Cohen, a woman with an important place in Leeds’s history and one whose story continues to inspire.”

Councillor Lennox joined 54North Homes chair Steve Secker for the cutting of a ceremonial ribbon at last Thursday’s event.

Funding for Leonora House has come from sources including Homes England, Leeds City Council and the WYCA’s Brownfield Housing Fund.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

“We’re dedicated to ensuring everyone has a safe and secure place to call home.

“The opening of Leonora House is another milestone in delivering more much-needed, high-quality affordable housing across our region.

“I’m also delighted to see some of our dementia-ready housing criteria being adopted, helping meet the needs and requirements of people at all stages of life.”

ENDS