Five-storey apartment block proposed for site of former social club
A total of 58 apartments for social rent could be built near Leeds city centre if planners agree.
An application for the scheme has been submitted for Railway Street at Saxton Gardens.
Leeds City Council selected Leeds & Yorkshire Housing Association (LYHA), following a competitive process, to develop the central Leeds site, which has been designed by Brewster Bye Architects.
If plans are approved, a five-storey, energy efficient scheme will be built on the site of the former ‘Yorkshire Rider Social Club’, close to Quarry House.
The homes will feature heat pumps instead of gas central heating, and will benefit from low-carbon energy source EV charging points and cycle storage.
The scheme will include 28 one-bedroom, 25 two-bedroom and five three-bedroom apartments.
Subject to planning approval, Leeds City Council will sell the site to LYHA, and support its development with commuted sums contributions.
These contributions have been secured from other new residential developments, where it has not been possible to provide sufficient affordable housing on-site.
Joanna Chambers, director of assets and growth at LYHA, said: “There is a significant need for more affordable housing in Leeds, particularly in the Burmantofts area and in neighbourhoods near the city centre.
“Subject to planning, we could start on site in spring 2022 and estimate the build will take 18 months to complete. All nominations for initial tenancies will be made through Leeds City Council.”
Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council’s executive board member for Infrastructure and Climate, said: “By delivering a mix of different homes, this development reflects our efforts to address housing need in the local area and to ensure we have mixed communities, where diverse housing needs can be met.
“As well as delivering an ambitious Council Housing Growth programme, we are working with the affordable housing sector to increase affordable housing delivery across the city.”
Mark Henderson, from Brewster Bye Architects, added: “It’s a very interesting site and we have worked with LYHA to create a landmark development that will form an important part of this evolving area.
“In slight contrast to the sleek modernist architecture of the surrounding proposals, our scheme has a lively, undulating form set within rich landscaping, which both softens and gives a human scale to the development.”
Outside the development, there are a number of green spaces surrounding the site which will be linked together and enhanced, with LYHA intending to provide enhanced planting and shrubbery.
