Woodside Vale Leeds: Plans for 299 new homes to be built in Woodside Quarry in Horsforth revealed

Taylor Wimpey Yorkshire has purchased the former Woodside Quarry site in north Leeds, which has stood redundant for over 20 years.

Based just off of the Leeds ring road between Horsforth and West Park, close to the railway line between Leeds and Harrogate, the proposed Woodside Vale development will comprise 299 houses alongside new areas of public open space, with improved connectivity to the surrounding public footpath network.

The former sandstone quarry and landfill works, located off Clayton Wood Road, is 20.14 hectares.

It is surrounded by ancient woodland on the higher levels above the worked quarry.

This means it is largely screened from view from any highway surrounding the site by mature trees and also that it provide views over Leeds City Centre and beyond thanks to its elevated position and tiered design.

It has been cleared area of land formerly home to business/office buildings on the Ring Road frontage which will provide access to the development.

New homes

Dubbed Woodside Vale, the plans include a mix of two, three and four-bedroom plots available.

A selection of different types of houses are proposed, such as, the three-bedroom semi-detached 'Randlestown' and 'Andromeda', one being without additional en-suite, and the four-bedroom 'Blaycock' which is split across three levels.

The 'Gaspar' and 'Goassard' homes are both four bedroom detached houses, with varying designs, while the 'Tamworth' is a semi-detached two-bedroom home, split over three levels.

Works will be starting on site at the end of this month, with showhomes due to open in the autumn of this year.

This plans include some affordable homes agreed as part of Leeds City Council planning officers.

All these homes will be semi-detached and situated across four locations throughout the site.

This meets the affordable housing requirement agreed as part of the outline consent of six per cent of the total number of dwellings, the developers said.

Green spaces

A boundary will be put in place between the development and the woodland area.

A paved 2m footpath will provide convenient access to the wider open space areas of the development.

Green spaces and a play area will be incorporated into the design.

The play area is a central nodal point within the development, skirted by the spine road and with segregated footway access from all parts of the development.

Developers said the 'focal green' area is an area of functional, accessible open space at the southern boundary of the development. It is land reserved for a future rail halt facility.

Developers said there is the opportunity to incorporate the exposed rock features of the quarry into the design, as well as the integration of woodland into the quarry with new tree planting.

The tree belt/woodland along the railway corridor embankment will be unaffected by the proposals.

The landscape proposals will extend the Lime avenue through the planting of new trees along the site frontage and into the site as far as the woodland.

A report from the chief planning officer stated that all relevant parties were first made aware of a Great Crested Newt presence at the site in 2000.

It stated that the developer acquired third party land to the west of the application site in which three ponds were constructed in 2008 to create a receptor site for the newts.

Discussions between the applicant and Natural England have been on-going since 2016 in relation to the broader mitigation approach for Great Crested Newts to allow for the development of the application site.

Natural England has broadly agreed that the mitigation approach put forward is acceptable with the current site layout.

How will the site be accessed

Access is provided from the outer Ring Road (A6120) and Silk Mill Way.

A central spine road through the site will be built.

It will be 6.75m wide to allow for possible future bus services to pass through the site.

Carriageway width on all other roads is 5.5m.

Footways are 2m wide. A 3m cycle way is included through the site.

The project is being led by Jenny Purple, Land and Planning Director at Taylor Wimpey Yorkshire, with the support of the land purchasing team.

James Poynor, Managing Director at Taylor Wimpey Yorkshire, said: “Securing this site after fierce competition in the current market demonstrates the strength and intent of the Taylor Wimpey Yorkshire Land Buying Team.

“I am grateful both for the hard work of the Taylor Wimpey team, and the significant amount of time and innovation invested in the project by the site’s previous owners Burford Delta and their agents Cushman & Wakefield. The depth of experience, level of quality and strength of commitment in the land purchasing team at Taylor Wimpey Yorkshire along with our cohesive partnership with Burford Delta has been paramount to the successful delivery of this project.”

Ms Purple, Land and Planning Director for Taylor Wimpey Yorkshire, said: “A site of this calibre and scale, in this location, is a rare opportunity, so we are incredibly honoured to have secured this acquisition.

“Its elevated position, enclosed by ancient woodland, provides the opportunity to deliver a prestigious development in this popular area of North Leeds where housing supply has been limited and demand is therefore high.

“Woodside Vale will be one of our flagship developments, offering a choice of high quality housing in a popular market location. We look forward to welcoming our first customers later this year.”

Phil Roebuck, Partner and Regional Head of Residential Development at Cushman & Wakefield, who acted on behalf of the landowner, Burford Delta, said: “Our client had the vision and commitment to transform a redundant, neglected brownfield site into what is without doubt one of the best major residential development sites in Leeds, enjoying stunning views over the city.

“I am delighted to have been involved in the project from the outset and am looking forward to seeing Taylor Wimpey deliver a scheme of high quality housing of which we can all be very proud.”

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