Residents and councillors mark major milestone for affordable housing scheme

Leeds Federated Housing Association brought residents and councillors from Leeds City Council together at a ground-breaking event for its latest affordable housing development in Oulton.

Partly funded through Homes England's Strategic Partnership with Accent Housing, as part of the Government's Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021-26, the regeneration of Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive by Yorkshire-based contractor Termrim Construction will see a total of 70 high-quality homes delivered.

Leeds City Council’s executive board will next week be asked to approve a grant of £2.8m that will enable Leeds Federated to increase the number of affordable rented homes across the scheme, which on completion will comprise a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses for local people.

The not-for-profit housing provider purchased the site last year with plans to replace its existing prefabricated Airey homes, built in the 1940s by the National Coal Board as a temporary solution to the post-war housing crisis, with much-needed affordable housing.

Most of the original development was regenerated nearly 30 years ago, providing modern homes on Shelley Crescent and Oulton Drive, with the remaining Airey homes on Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive the last to be redeveloped.

Phase one of the development is expected to complete next autumn with the first 10 homes allocated to residents currently living on Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive who have regulated or assured tenancies.

Leeds Federated is also working closely with the council to enable former residents who did not have assured or regulated tenancies to be given, where possible, an opportunity to move into the newly built affordable rented homes.

Residents will benefit from solar panels installed across the scheme, with each home built to high energy efficiency standards and achieving an EPC-B rating.

Kim Brear, chair at Leeds Federated Housing Association, said:

“Over the last year we have worked closely with residents and the council to move forward with the redevelopment of Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive.

“We want to ensure the new scheme is a place that people want to move to and enjoy living in, and I would like to thank everyone involved for positively engaging with our team who are wholeheartedly committed to not just developing affordable housing but helping people to make a home. It’s great to see phase one of the demolition complete and I look forward to seeing the homes take shape over the next year.”

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

“Increasing the provision of good-quality, energy-efficient and affordable housing forms a key part of our efforts to ensure Leeds is a place that has opportunities and communities for all.

“The regeneration of Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive is a great example of how ambitious thinking and partnership working can help us achieve that aim, and it was a pleasure to attend the ground-breaking ceremony at the site.

“The council has worked hard to support both current and former residents during the recent period of change for this tight-knit community, and I look forward to seeing how the scheme now takes shape in the months and years to come.”

Gerry Doherty, construction manager at Termrim Construction, said:

“We are really pleased to be working with Leeds Federated to deliver this exciting new development which will bring new and affordable homes to Oulton.

“At Termrim Construction we are dedicated to improving communities and the lives of those within them and we are looking forward to building these new quality homes and bringing them to reality for our client and the new homeowners.

“Having met with the existing residents as part of our contractor engagement sessions we are excited to have them join us on this journey.”

The regeneration of Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive will be completed in phases, with the development expected to be completed in 2026. For more information and to stay up to date about the scheme, visit: https://sugarhill.lfha.co.uk/

Note to editors:

Homes England has formed a Strategic Partnership with Accent Housing as part of the Government's Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021-2026. With a grant total of £216m Accent, together with four delivery partners - Habinteg, Leeds Federated, PA Housing and Thrive Homes - will build 2,809 new affordable homes in areas of housing need. Just over half of homes will be built for Affordable Rent and a proportion of homes will be built using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) on land led sites using SME contractors.

About Leeds Federated Housing Association:

Leeds Federated is a housing association with around 4,500 properties across Leeds, Wakefield and North Yorkshire that exists to provide good quality affordable homes that people want to live in.

We aim to maintain a highly satisfied customer base and a dedicated and motivated staff team that provide good quality, value for money services for customers.

With an ambition to deliver sustainable growth we actively seek out a range of development opportunities that will enable us to offer more much-needed affordable housing in the communities we operate.

For more information, visit our website at www.lfha.co.uk 

About Leeds City Council:

Leeds City Council is the second largest local authority in the country, with around 14,000 employees.

The council is committed to making Leeds a vibrant, environmentally-friendly and compassionate place to live, work and visit, with a people-first ethos that fully embraces values such as equality and diversity.

This approach is helping to deliver real and transformative change for the city through major ongoing investment in areas like housing, infrastructure and public transport.

The council’s executive board will consider the proposed £2.8m Sugar Hill grant at a meeting next Wednesday, November 22. A report from council officers to members of the executive board recommending approval of the grant can be viewed here.

ENDS