The West Yorkshire Housing Partnership welcomes the new Leeds Affordable Housing Strategy – a bold, long term plan to deliver more safe, warm and affordable homes across the city over the next decade.
Leeds has delivered more than 3,000 affordable homes in the last five years, one of the highest totals of any major city outside London. We’re proud to have played a key role in this by working closely with Leeds City Council and other partners to bring forward high‑quality, affordable homes that offer people long‑term security and stability.
The new strategy – approved by the council’s Executive Board on 11 March – sets out a clear plan to accelerate delivery, unlock more land, grow housing association programmes and ensure new neighbourhoods include the right mix of affordable homes.
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.”
Across West Yorkshire, our members own and manage around 167,000 homes, spanning social rent, affordable rent, shared ownership and rent to buy. This scale and experience means we are well placed to support Leeds in meeting its ambition to deliver 1,500 affordable homes each year by 2036.
The strategy also highlights several affordable housing schemes from our members, showcasing the impact of our partnership across the city:
- Leonora House, Railway Street, Leeds city centre – 54North Homes: 58 modern social rent homes offering secure, high‑quality accommodation in the heart of the city.
- Colliers Park, Oulton – Leeds Federated: A major regeneration scheme delivering 70 new affordable homes and creating a modern, energy‑efficient neighbourhood.
- Points Cross, South Bank Leeds – The Guinness Partnership: 183 new shared ownership homes forming part of a wider regeneration programme.
- Saxton Heights, Saxton Lane, Leeds – Vico Homes: One of Leeds’ largest new‑build affordable housing schemes, delivering more than 200 affordable rent homes on a prominent brownfield site.
- Dyecoats, Kirkstall Road, Leeds – Clarion Housing Group: A large‑scale regeneration project set to deliver more than 1,600 new homes, creating a sustainable new community along the River Aire.
Councillor Mary Harland, Leeds City Council’s Executive Member for Housing, added: “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 Leeds Affordable Housing Strategy can be read in full on the council’s website.