Council housing scheme is a home win for tenants and local community

The development – which will provide a total of 55 council houses and bungalows – began taking shape in the Ambertons area of Gipton in late 2023.

And, in an important step towards the successful delivery of the scheme, tenants are now moving into the first six completed homes after picking up their keys at the end of last month.

The development – which is being built by Wates Construction and forms part of Leeds’s Council Housing Growth Programme (CHGP) – is due for overall completion by the end of the year.

It will offer a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses and one-bedroom bungalows, split across various pieces of brownfield land on Amberton Terrace, Amberton Crescent, Amberton Street and Montagu Avenue.

The homes are all being made available for affordable rent, providing a welcome helping hand for families in an area where there is significant housing demand.

Energy efficiency has played a central role in the design and build programme, with the council’s net zero credentials being underlined by the fitting of air source heat pumps rather than gas boilers.

The properties are also level access and can facilitate the installation, where required, of mobility-friendly features such as through-floor lifts.

Most of the cost of the development is being met by the council, with additional support coming from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Fund.

And, although the scheme’s primary focus is the delivery of new homes, it is also benefiting the local community in other ways.

Funding linked to the development has already been used by the council to carry out improvements to tennis facilities in nearby Harehills Park.

Existing green space off Amberton Road and Lawrence Road is currently being enhanced, with new footpaths and seating set to be complemented by bulb planting and other landscaping work.

An upgrade of the play area behind Gipton’s Henry Barran Centre is due to get under way next month.

The council’s highways team, meanwhile, is funding a series of footpath and carriageway improvements on Amberton Terrace and Montagu Avenue.

Wates has also carried out a wide-ranging programme of tie-in community engagement activity during its work on the new homes. Notable initiatives have included:

• Partnering with sub-contractor Wernick Hire to donate a repurposed container – worth £2,750 – to Harehills-based charity CATCH for use as a storage facility for its educational farm;
• Providing work experience and pre-employability opportunities for a total of 10 young people;
• The award of a £4,500 grant from the Wates Family Trust to People’s Pantry and The Clothing Rebellion, a community charity based at the Old Fire Station in Gipton;
• Volunteering by members of the construction team to support the Gipton Growers gardening group;
• Linking up with a number of local schools, including the Co-op Academy Leeds and Leeds East Academy, for site visits and other work.

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

“The handover of these properties is a really important milestone and highlights the positive difference that our Council Housing Growth Programme is making to communities in Leeds.

“We know that, despite the programme’s achievements, there is still a pressing need for good-quality affordable homes in many parts of the city, including Gipton.

“The Ambertons scheme – and others like it – will help address that need, providing the sort of safe, warm and welcoming housing that can transform lives.

“I’m also delighted that the scheme is benefiting the wider community, with improvements to local roads and green space complementing the engagement work that has been done by Wates.

“It’s this kind of collaborative approach – coupled with our determination to ensure that Leeds is the best place in the country to call home – that has helped make the Council Housing Growth Programme such a success.”

Councillor Lennox met one of the new tenants, Paul Bennett, during a visit to Amberton Terrace with representatives from Wates and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority yesterday (Wednesday, August 20).

David Wingfield, managing director of Construction East at Wates, said:

“Since 2020, we have been working in close partnership with Leeds City Council to deliver much-needed affordable housing, and seeing new tenants move into their homes is one of the most rewarding aspects of these projects.

“The Ambertons development is about more than building houses, it is about shaping a connected community where people feel they belong and can thrive for generations to come.

“Our teams have shown immense dedication in bringing this scheme to life, and we look forward to the next milestone on this journey.”

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

“I’m delighted we’re able to help bring more high-quality council homes to east Leeds.

“Having a safe and secure place to call home should be a fundamental right of everyone, which is why we’re putting new housing at the heart of our mission to build a happy West Yorkshire.

“Together with partners like Leeds City Council, we’re committed to building the thousands of new homes our region needs to deliver a greener, more vibrant future for all.”

More than 350 new homes have been built via the council’s CHGP since 2018. More than 450 homes have also been acquired as part of the programme, with these properties and the new-builds both contributing to efforts to ease local affordable housing pressures.

Locations where new homes have recently been delivered by the CHGP include Barncroft Close in Seacroft and Scott Hall Drive in Chapel Allerton as well as a site in Middleton formerly occupied by Throstle Recreation Ground and Middleton Skills Centre.

Places where CHGP schemes are, like the one in the Ambertons, currently under construction include Brooklands Avenue in Seacroft, Hough Top in Swinnow and the former Middlecross Day Centre site in Armley.

Note to editors:

Brownfield is a planning term for land which has been developed at some point in the past but is now unused and therefore offers scope for regeneration.

ENDS