JohnDemolition work is in full swing at an eyesore complex of empty flats as Leeds City Council pushes forward with plans to transform the site with new-build affordable homes.
The Kingsdale Court complex, in the Boggart Hill area of Seacroft, was for many years blighted by poor housing conditions and dwindling occupancy levels as well as issues linked to crime and anti-social behaviour.
The council is undertaking a comprehensive regeneration of the site, which includes the acquisition of Kingsdale Court’s 88 flats – all of which were privately owned – along with its freehold and associated management rights.
The acquisitions process – which involved lengthy negotiations with dozens of individual property owners – was successfully concluded in May this year, with the current demolition programme getting under way in October.
Due for completion in 2026, the programme will sweep away the eight medium-rise blocks that made up Kingsdale Court and had become an unwelcome blot on the Boggart Hill landscape.
Meanwhile, design work is continuing ahead of the submission of a planning application for the new council housing proposed for the cleared site.
The full details of the scheme have yet to be finalised, but at this stage it is hoped that it will involve a mix of houses and apartments.
Councillor Mary Harland, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said: “As a council, we are determined to use all the resources and opportunities at our disposal to tackle deprivation and improve living standards in communities across the city.
“The work currently taking place at Boggart Hill is a great example of the difference that this approach can make, with Kingsdale Court’s poor-quality private sector housing long being a cause for local concern.
“Our aim is to transform this part of Seacroft and build, through our Council Housing Growth Programme, the kind of good quality, energy efficient and affordable homes that are a source of pride for their tenants and also the wider area.”
Built in the 1960s, Kingsdale Court was in a state of serious decline when the council began its acquisitions process in 2020.
The council’s acquisitions work – which involved no use of compulsory purchase powers – saw it securing vacant possession for the entire complex, with affected tenants receiving rehousing assistance tailored to their specific needs.
Hoardings went up around the site after the acquisitions were completed.
New-build CHGP projects recently delivered by the council include Brooklands Avenue in Seacroft, where 25 one-bedroom apartments and eight two and three-bedroom houses now have pride of place on a former brownfield site.
Boggart Hill has been identified by the council as one of a number of priority neighbourhoods in Leeds where regeneration will help reduce deprivation and build stronger, more cohesive communities.
