A brand new affordable and sustainable development of 28 homes in the Armley area of Leeds has been completed by 54North Homes.
The £5.1 million Wesley Road development comprises 26 houses and two flats with energy efficiency at the heart of the design of each home which features air source heat pumps providing the heating and hot water.
Each home has been built to a high specification with 22 of the homes available for social rent and six for shared ownership. The homes, each with individual gardens, are surrounded by open landscaped areas with retained mature tree and hedgerows. The scheme is located on the southern end of Wesley Road near St. Bartholomew’s Church.
Leeds City Council committed £700,000 to the project from a funding stream which supports affordable housing delivery using pooled financial contributions paid by developers as part of planning agreements.
The development is also supported by £2.375m grant funding from Homes England, through the Karbon Homes Group’s Strategic Partnership with central government’s
The contractor, Ashfield Projects (Yorkshire), have handed over the completed homes to 54North Homes, part of the Karbon Group, with the first customers already moving in. Tenancies for social rent will be offered to people on the council’s housing register.
The completion of these homes further strengthens 54North Homes’ ambitious development programme after completing 152 homes last year with a total investment of £22.2 million.
Zoey Hawthorne, Group Director of Development at the Karbon Group, said:
“Wesley Road is our latest sustainable housing development providing high quality energy efficient homes for local people. This is 54North’s first new-build development powered by air source heat pumps, so this is a significant milestone for the organisation.
Councillor Mary Harland, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said:
“As a council, we are determined to play our part in ensuring that people living in communities across Leeds can access good quality, energy efficient and affordable housing.
“I’m delighted, therefore, that we were able to commit funding support to the delivery of these homes at Wesley Road and the creation of a vibrant new neighbourhood on what was a derelict piece of land. It’s particularly pleasing that so many of the properties will be for social rent and, as such, will give a welcome helping hand to people on lower incomes.”
Joel Ramsden, Director of Ashfield Group, said:
“We are extremely proud to have delivered the Wesley Road development for our client, 54North Homes. This scheme reflects our commitment to building high-quality, energy-efficient homes, all achieving an EPC A rating, that meet local housing needs while making a positive contribution to the wider community.
“Regenerating this brownfield site into 28 sustainable new homes, each fully equipped with the latest technology to ensure they are economical, environmentally friendly and set within thoughtfully designed green spaces, has been a truly rewarding project for our team. We look forward to seeing residents settle into their new homes and to continuing our work across Yorkshire, delivering much-needed affordable housing.”
54North Homes and partners engaged with the local community as part of the biodiversity plan and commitment to incorporate ecological features into the design that support local wildlife.
They engaged with the local Scout and Beavers groups, which are located directly opposite the development, and also involved college students from Leeds College, inviting them to build wildlife shelters for hedgehogs and insects. The boxes are subtly placed amongst the mature trees, gardens and landscaped areas of the development.
The homes were designed by Brewster Bye Architects and BWA acted as employer’s agent.