The Fold Horsforth: Construction begins to transform former Leeds City College site into affordable housing

Work has started to construct 152 affordable homes on the former Leeds City College campus in Horsforth, which has been redundant since closing in 2017.

Leading housing provider Stonewater is working with regeneration specialist Vistry Partnerships to develop The Fold: a mix of family houses and flats for social rent, shared ownership and ‘rent to buy’.

The £22.5 million development aims to help meet the pressing need for affordable homes for people in Horsforth, which has the highest level of housing demand in the City of Leeds.

Initially, blueprints for the development were kicked back and forth between developers and Leeds city councillors, with many elected members raising concerns around the designs.

However in April last year, members of the committee voted almost unanimously in favour of the plans, with Coun Caroline Gruen stating: “It now looks as if someone actually thought about the design and that it looks like that on purpose – I must say it is well improved.

“I feel it is a shame that it has come back twice before we get this level of design. Developers should be bringing designs of this quality to us in the first instance.”

Speaking on the start of construction, Chris Montague, director of development (North and East) at Stonewater, said: “We are pleased to have started groundworks at this exciting new scheme.

“Working with Vistry, we look forward to transforming this disused brownfield site into a high-quality development which will create a vibrant new community and provide more local families and individuals with a place they are proud to call home.”

During construction of the scheme, contractor Vistry and its sub-contractors will offer apprenticeships to support young jobseekers and develop their skills. In addition, they will also work with local schools to provide careers support and work experience opportunities.

As part of Stonewater’s commitment to developing homes which are not reliant on fossil fuels, all the homes will benefit from the installation of air source heat pumps and solar panels, rather than traditional gas boilers.

In addition, the homes have been designed to accommodate homeworking and feature a dedicated work area. All the houses will benefit from secure private gardens, while the flats will share a communal garden.

The scheme will also include green outdoor spaces – including play and exercise equipment – for residents of all ages to enjoy, plus attractive public artwork made from sustainable materials.

Bird boxes, bat boxes and hedgehog boxes will be located throughout the development, along with new and existing ponds at the site, to encourage local wildlife.

Jeremy Roberts, Operations Manager at Vistry Partnerships, added: “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Stonewater again, on this innovative, sustainable development providing Horsforth with much-needed, quality housing for those most in need.”

The full development will comprise four one-bedroom and 20 two bedroom flats, 11 two bedroom, 26 three bedroom and 11 four bedroom houses for social rent; 16 two bedroom, 32 three bedroom and five four bedroom houses for shared ownership; and 10 two bedroom, 13 three bedroom and four four bedroom houses for ‘rent to buy’.

Work is expected to complete autumn 2026.