Grand opening for Leeds housing scheme with real community spirit

Providing independent living opportunities with on-site support where required, Middleton’s Gascoigne House began welcoming residents in October last year.

And, with all 60 of its apartments now filled, an official opening event took place yesterday (Thursday, August 1) to celebrate the success of this key project for Leeds’s Council Housing Growth Programme (CHGP).

Guests at the opening included Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, Councillor Jess Lennox, the council’s executive member for housing, and Tom Riordan, the council’s chief executive.

They were joined by David Wingfield, regional director for Wates Construction Yorkshire and North East, which delivered the scheme for the council.

Also present were Peter White and Richard Merrills, managing director and director respectively at Watson Batty, the architecture practice that headed up the project's design work.

The undoubted star of the show, however, was Gascoigne House itself, with its cosy apartments – all made available for affordable rents – being complemented by a wide range of communal facilities and attractive outdoor spaces.

Guests at the event were able to cast their eye over a newly-unveiled plaque marking the opening of the building, while husband and wife Steven and Rosemary Brown – the first people to move in last October – helped with the cutting of a celebratory cake.

Gascoigne House forms part of the council’s multi-million pound redevelopment and regeneration of a site formerly occupied by Throstle Recreation Ground and Middleton Skills Centre.

The wider scheme includes 100 family homes and 16 fully wheelchair-accessible bungalows, all also made available for affordable rents.

In a sign of the community spirit that has already been forged within the development, residents in the bungalows have been assisting with the running of activities at Gascoigne House.

Pupils from Middleton Primary School, meanwhile, regularly visit the extra care scheme to spend time chatting and playing games with the older people.

Links have also been established between Gascoigne House and groups from the local community, including Middleton Elderly Aid and Friends of Middleton Park.

There was recognition for the wider Throstle Rec scheme earlier this summer when it took top spot in the affordable and social housing development category at the inaugural Yorkshire Placemaking Awards.

Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said:

“I was delighted to attend the official opening of Gascoigne House, an asset that I think the whole city can be proud of.

“The facilities there are tremendous, and it was lovely to meet some of its residents and hear about the close bonds they are building with each other as well as the local community.

“The council’s investment in Gascoigne House aligns with our wider Age Friendly Leeds strategy, which is designed to ensure that all of our city’s older people feel valued, respected and supported.”

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

“Our Council Housing Growth Programme is achieving hugely impressive results, with Gascoigne House being a prime example of the difference our work is making to people’s lives.

“We want to ensure that everyone in Leeds, whatever their age and background, can enjoy the sense of wellbeing that comes with a warm and welcoming home.

“It’s really pleasing, therefore, that the Throstle Rec scheme as a whole is catering for a wide range of needs, with affordable family homes and accessible bungalows sitting side-by-side with Gascoigne House.”

More than 350 new homes have been built via the council’s CHGP since 2018. Close to 330 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.

Latest figures for the period up to 2025 show that, across Leeds, nearly 1,600 affordable homes are currently under construction or in the pre-construction or feasibility stages of development thanks to the CHGP as well as other council-backed schemes delivered by partners.

ENDS