New council homes in the pipeline at former eyesore flats site

Leeds City Council began knocking down Kingsdale Court, in the Boggart Hill area of Seacroft, in October last year after acquiring the flats from their private owners.

Now, with the demolition of all eight medium-rise blocks completed, the council has released further information about the housing scheme proposed for the site.

The development would have 20 houses – each with two or three bedrooms – as well as a pair of buildings providing a total of 59 one or two bedroom apartments.

Intended for rent by people on Leeds’s housing register, the homes would be built to exacting energy efficiency standards and complemented by landscaped outdoor areas.

A series of striking computer-generated images showing how the development could look have also been produced.

And, ahead of the submission of an application for planning permission for the scheme, the council is working hard to keep local residents fully informed about the progress made to date.

Leaflets outlining the proposals – and questionnaires seeking views on them – have been posted to nearly 500 residential properties and businesses.

People can also learn more about the plans – and speak with council representatives – at a drop-in event taking place at St Richard’s Church, on Ramshead Hill, between 2pm and 7.30pm next Monday, May 18.

Display boards setting out details of the scheme will be on show at Deacon House, on Seacroft Avenue, from May 19 to 25.

People wishing to provide feedback on the proposals prior to the submission of the planning application are asked to do so by May 25.

Responses can be sent to the council via the www.councilhousinggrowth.commonplace.is website or by e-mailing CHG.Kingsdale.Court@leeds.gov.uk.

Forms for those who prefer to give written feedback will be available at the St Richard’s Church event and then at Deacon House from the 19th to the 25th.

Views gathered at this stage will help the council ensure nothing is overlooked as it fine-tunes the contents of its planning application.

Once the application has been submitted, people will then – during the planning process’s consultation phase – have an opportunity to formally comment on the proposed scheme.

Subject to planning approval, it is hoped construction work at the site will get under way next year.

The development would be delivered via Leeds’s much-praised Council Housing Growth Programme, which has already built or acquired hundreds of homes for local tenants in recent years.

Councillor Mary Harland, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said:

“The plans for the former Kingsdale Court site are a great example of our commitment to providing good-quality, energy efficient and affordable council housing in communities across the city.

“I’m delighted, therefore, that we have been able to get to a stage where the demolition of the flats has been completed.

“I would encourage people to now take the opportunity to find out more about the scheme and the difference it would make to this part of Seacroft.

“We would also welcome any and all comments on the proposals ahead of the submission of our planning application.”

Built in the 1960s, Kingsdale Court was for many years blighted by poor housing conditions and dwindling occupancy levels as well as issues linked to crime and anti-social behaviour.

The council’s acquisition of the site’s 88 flats – all of which were privately owned – along with its freehold and associated management rights was successfully concluded in May last year.

ENDS