100th home refurbished in Holbeck regeneration scheme

 

One South Leeds resident has particular reason to celebrate a milestone in Leeds City Council’s ambitious drive to create more housing for the city.

Meynell Heights 100 refurb
Peter Wood (front left) joins Cllr Peter Gruen (behind left), Sean Corcoran from Keepmoat (rear right) and Jon Hinchliff (front right)

Peter Wood lives in the hundredth house to be refurbished under the council’s housing regeneration project which is making houses more energy efficient and up to date. He welcomed Councillor Peter Gruen, who is responsible for the city’s housing, to see the changes that have been made in the Meynell Heights block of flats in Holbeck.

Councillor Peter Gruen, Leeds City Council executive board member with responsibility for neighbourhoods, planning and personnel, said:

“I’m really pleased to see the improvements we’ve made in Mr Wood’s home. We are focussed on the need to meet one of the biggest challenges Leeds faces, which is to provide more quality, accessible homes, which are energy efficient to meet the city’s growing population, while protecting the quality of the environment and respecting community identity.

“One year ago we gained agreement to start this process, and here we are delivering the hundredth refurbished property. Work is also progressing at a fast pace which will see the delivery of 26 new homes built in south Leeds, later in the year. There’s plenty more to be done, but as Leeds makes more progress to being the best city, we are committed to providing the best housing too.

“We know by working with a range of other organisations we can provide a better range of affordable housing, and by regenerating areas like Little London, Beeston Hill and Holbeck, we are demonstrating a real commitment to providing affordable housing to meet the needs of our citizens.”

Mr Wood, said:

“The council have done a great job. The new kitchen is great and my new windows will mean my home is a lot warmer during the winter months. The changes to the local properties have made them a lot better and it’s nice to know I’m joining ninety nine other households who are seeing the benefits of this investment so far!”

Meynell Heights
Meynell Heights undergoing external cladding works

Jon Hinchliff general manager from sc4L, said:

“We’re proud to be working with the council to make sure people in Leeds get the best housing we can. The city is making great strides in getting the extra homes that will be needed in the years to come and we look forward to helping to meet those plans.”

Leeds is continuing to develop city plans which will make sure that development is prioritised in ways that make the most of brownfield sites and opportunities to reuse existing land and development areas.

The Beeston Hill & Holbeck housing regeneration scheme will see 383 council houses refurbished and 275 new homes built. Work is progressing on a number of sites across the area with the first new homes, at Folly Lane and Coupland Place, due for completion this September.