Plans submitted for new council housing at former eyesore flats site

Leeds City Council recently demolished the Kingsdale Court flats, in the Boggart Hill area of Seacroft, after acquiring them from private ownership.

Now the council has submitted an application for planning permission for the 79 affordable homes it is seeking to build on the cleared site.

The proposed development would comprise 20 houses, each with two or three bedrooms, and a pair of buildings providing a total of 59 one or two-bedroomed apartments.

And documents lodged with the planning application set out how those homes would transform what was once an unsightly blot on the local landscape into a welcoming, well-designed and sustainable neighbourhood.

The new properties – for rent by people on the council’s housing register – would be high quality, with a contemporary external appearance and generous internal floor space. Their energy efficiency would be boosted by measures such as enhanced insulation and the use of ground source heat pumps and photovoltaic solar panels. Electric vehicle infrastructure and bike storage facilities would further strengthen the scheme’s sustainability credentials.

The building of the homes would be complemented by a comprehensive landscaping programme, with new trees and ornamental planting planned. Each house would have a private garden, while attractive communal areas would be created for use by residents in the apartments.

The proposed mix of property types, meanwhile, aims to reflect the specific housing needs of the Killingbeck & Seacroft council ward, where there is high demand for one and two-bedroomed homes.

Plans for the development were shaped by consultation with local residents and other stakeholders, while architectural and design services were provided by NPS Leeds, the council’s joint venture partner.

Subject to the award of planning permission, the scheme will be delivered via Leeds’s much-praised Council Housing Growth Programme (CHGP), which has already built or acquired hundreds of homes in recent years.

Councillor Peter Carlill, Leeds City Council’s executive member for transport and planning, said:

“A lot of hard work has already gone into our efforts to regenerate this site, where the privately-owned and now-demolished flats had been allowed to deteriorate and decay.

“It’s great news, therefore, that we have reached the point where we have been able to submit a planning application for its proposed housing scheme.

“If approved, these affordable homes will give their tenants the kind of security and stability that comes with having a safe, warm and welcoming place to live.

“They will also provide further proof of the value of our Council Housing Growth Programme and the positive difference it is making to communities across Leeds.”

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 concluded in May last year. The acquisition process had started in 2020 and involved lengthy negotiations with around 35 individual property owners.

Notable CHGP success stories in recent times include the delivery of a 33-home scheme at Brooklands Avenue in Seacroft and a 55-home development in the Ambertons area of Gipton.

CHGP projects currently under construction include the Middlecross development in Armley, which will provide 65 apartments for affordable rent by people aged over 55 with care and support needs, and a scheme at Hough Top, in Swinnow, near Pudsey, which will deliver 82 homes, also for affordable rent.

ENDS