New strategy sets out vision for decade of affordable housing growth in Leeds

A previous Leeds City Council action plan for housing growth achieved impressive results between 2022 and 2025, with nearly 1,900 affordable homes – many for social rent – being delivered locally during that three-year period.

Now the council has unveiled its Leeds Affordable Housing Strategy (LAHS) 2026-2036, which aims to build on the progress made to date and, by doing so, put the city at the heart of efforts to deliver 1.5 million new homes nationwide.

The strategy – which was approved by the council’s executive board at a meeting today (Wednesday, March 11) – sets out a vision for meeting Leeds’s housing needs through a combination of innovative thinking, collaborative working and effective leveraging of investment.

The potential offered by such an approach means, the LAHS says, that Leeds could be in a position by 2036 where 1,500 affordable homes are being delivered each year by the council and its partners.

The strategy acknowledges this is a bold aim but also outlines a series of steps the council can take that will, it is hoped, make it an achievable one. They include:

• The continued use of the council’s own resources – including Right to Buy receipts – to build or acquire affordable homes through its well-established Council Housing Growth Programme (CHGP);
• Capitalising on the opportunities offered by recently-launched funding sources – such as central government’s £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme – to accelerate the delivery of new affordable housing;
• Ensuring that the new Leeds Local Plan – a framework guiding how land across the city is used and developed – includes a flexible and responsive suite of policies that can boost affordable housing growth;
• Supporting registered providers such as housing associations through grant funding and the ringfencing of council land assets as they look to scale up their own delivery programmes;
• Working with public and private sector partners to ensure that future mixed-use city centre neighbourhoods incorporate as much affordable housing as possible.

The new strategy also includes details of schemes – some still under development – which highlight the progress made during the period covered by the Leeds Affordable Housing Growth Partnership Action Plan 2022–2025. They include:

• Throstle Rec in Middleton, where 176 affordable homes – including the 60-apartment Gascoigne House extra care facility – were built through the CHGP;
• Leonora House, a £12m scheme – situated at Railway Street, on the eastern edge of the city centre, and comprising 58 flats for social rent – that was developed by the 54North Homes housing association with grant support from the council, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and central government’s Homes England agency. The council’s role also involved selling the Railway Street site to 54North so it could be used for the delivery of affordable housing;
• Colliers Park, a Leeds Federated Housing Association scheme – backed with £2.8m of grant funding from the council – to replace 1940s ‘prefab’ homes in the Sugar Hill Close area of Oulton with affordable new-builds;
• Registered provider-led schemes Points Cross (The Guinness Partnership), Saxton Heights (Vico Homes) and Dyecoats (Latimer by Clarion Housing Group) which, when complete, will collectively deliver hundreds of affordable homes.

Of the near-1,900 affordable homes delivered in Leeds between 2022 and 2025, around 25 per cent were directly built or acquired by the council.

Just under 40 per cent were delivered by registered providers and third sector partners while a further 35 per cent were facilitated via planning process funding agreements between private developers and the council.

It is anticipated that affordable housing growth in Leeds during the 2026 to 2036 period will be driven by the same crucial mix of council, registered provider, third sector partner and private sector activity.

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

“Meeting the housing needs of people in Leeds is at the heart of the council’s mission to tackle inequality, build thriving communities and provide opportunities that work for everyone.

“We are determined, therefore, to use every tool at our disposal to deliver – either directly or through partnership working – good-quality affordable homes across the city.

“The results achieved in recent years have been really impressive – particularly given the viability challenges that affordable schemes can face – but we are fully aware that there is still much to do.

“The vision set out in the Leeds Affordable Housing Strategy shows how the council, in collaboration with partners, can continue to move forward over the next decade and deliver even more of the kind of homes that will have a transformational impact on people’s lives.”

The council’s positive and productive relationship with WYCA and Homes England is, says the LAHS, one of the keys to unlocking further development in years to come.

Every effort has been made to ensure the LAHS is a truly collaborative partnership strategy, with WYCA, Homes England, registered providers, private developers and the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership among those consulted during work on it.

Rachael Dennis, chair of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership, said:

“This new Leeds Affordable Housing Strategy gives us a clear and ambitious route for delivering more affordable homes across Leeds. It also shows that the city is open for business and committed to meeting housing need at scale.

“The council’s approach to partnership working is central to this. By working closely with housing associations and developers, Leeds is unlocking sites, removing barriers and bringing forward high-quality, energy efficient and affordable homes that give families the stability and security they need.

“It’s also why we see Leeds as a place where we can scale up delivery. The ambition set out in the strategy provides the certainty and confidence our members need to invest in the city and accelerate the delivery of affordable homes over the next decade.”

The Leeds Affordable Housing Strategy and an accompanying report prepared for today’s executive board meeting can be found in full at agenda item 10 here.

Notes to editors:

The West Yorkshire Housing Partnership comprises 15 members (13 housing associations and two local authorities, one of which is Leeds City Council). The partnership collectively owns or manages 180,000 homes in West Yorkshire and provides a focus for social housing related ambition, policy and collaboration across the region.

The term ‘affordable housing’ refers to homes that are available for rent at below market value or low-cost ownership. When affordable housing is made available for rent, potential tenures include ‘affordable’ and ‘social’. Affordable rent is discounted by at least 20 per cent from the prevailing local market rate. Social rent is lower than affordable rent and set by a formula tied to local incomes, property size and property value.

ENDS