Armley set to be an upcoming property hotspot as demand soars for homes in one of city’s most deprived wards

The suburb, literally just a couple of miles from the heart of Leeds city centre, has one of the highest crime rates of the 33 council wards in Leeds.

It is among the top three wards in the city for claimants of universal credit and jobseekers allowance and has above average levels for smoking, obesity, diabetes, COPD and CHD.

It shares its space with hundreds of criminals being detained at Armley prison and the local primary closed last year shortly after a damning Ofsted report which branded the school inadequate, weak and “unable to stem a significant decline in all aspects of the school’s work.”

Meg Ashby, 23, is a negotiator at the local estate agents Brooklands Robinson where they can barely keep up with the demand for properties to buy and let. She has known Armley for years and says "you know what you are getting".

She said: “I personally love it. I was born and bred in Guiseley and Rawdon and moved away to Norwich. When I came back to Leeds to live I said I want to live here (Armley).

“I go on the canal every day, I walk into Leeds from my house and always go to the park. Town Street gives me everything I need, I don’t need to go further. The supermarkets are so convenient, you are close to Kirkstall, the cinema and Headingley is down the road.”

“I know what I am getting but my estate is quiet as a mouse. There isn’t much stock because it is going so fast.

“At the moment it seems to be first time buyers and a lot of investors. We have had an influx of investors for rentals. At the moment it is booming. I can’t say for other years but I am out constantly from 11.40am to 4pm just on sales viewings.

“It is the prices for sure. They are cheap for sales and lettings but you can get good yield on houses for rentals. Sales are first time buyers because they can afford it and people rent because of the prices and local amenities.”

YEP Editor's CommentSay you are a single parent with two teenage children, a girl and a boy. To get a four bedroomed council house in Armley could see you on a waiting list for 132 weeks and bidding against 115 other people for the same property. You can buy a terraced house for around £84,000 and a four bedroomed detached for £60,000 if you want a project.

A walk along Armley Town Street takes you to a butcher, newsagents, mini markets, European food markets, mobile phone shops, a carpet shop, chemist, dog grooming parlour, DIY shop, a clothes shop, several cafes and take-aways, charity shops and national chains such as Boots, Fultons and Heron. The leisure centre has just been done up and there is a medical practice offering child health, diabetes, maternity, mental health, smoking and weight management services as well as run of the mill GP duties.

The businesses on there might not be Selfridges, but they are in tune with their market and know what the community needs.

Kerry Sands is the manager at the Personal Bridge charity shop.

She said: “It is on the poverty line and isn’t a place where people have a lot of money to spend. But you get a lot of friendly faces, we get regular customers that are smiling and quite happy. I think it is lovely.

“A lot of the customers we have are definitely people who are not rich and they need somewhere like this to come and buy clothes for their children or themselves at a lot cheaper a price. Even though Primark is cheap, it is costly for the bus services.

“This place is valuable. During lockdown I know people have missed it. Customers have stopped me in the street asking when I am opening the shop and a lot have come in today (first day after lockdown) saying we have been waiting for you to open.”

Perhaps more tellingly is the goodwill towards the shop where the cause is to help people who have alcohol and drug addictions. It is an issue which is a priority concern among ward councillors and businesses who have complained about street-drinking and the impact that is having on the high street which has seen shops shut and move out.

Ms Sands adds: “Lots of people drop off donations to help out and I think it is for the charity as well. It works with people with lifestyle issues, substance addiction. They know it goes to these people and Armley does suffer with people in this situation.”

That said, Armley Town Street is buzzing.

For a Monday morning where the rain is bouncing off the floor and no-one really knows anymore whether the kids should be at school, whether the school holidays have started or what the difference is between weekends and week days - never mind anxieties over shielding and social distancing - the main high street seems alive.

There is chatter, activity and a gritty vibrancy.

The punters at the pub, the White Horse, don’t seem to be put off their pints by lockdown fear and despite the torrential downpour, there are queues 20 deep in the street for the Post Office and Lloyds bank.

In Fulton's the queue to pay snakes around the aisles of brand names being sold at half the price than you would find in the 'big four' or the supermarket world.

A conversation rings out between a pensioner and a wife and grandmother trying to get the most out of their money and a multipack of sausage rolls which he says will last him all week. The woman on the till is cheerful, bubbly and chats to you as if you are old friends while she scans cut price copies of premium tonic water.

“Have you tried that lemon gin?”, “Oooo it’s lovely.”

In a city where just a few miles away in Far Headingley, for example, that four bedroomed house would set you back £750,000 there is something about Armley that is very real.

Ms Ashby adds: “Everyone is so grounded. It is what it is. There is no hierarchy over anybody, nobody is in a position to be a snob.”

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Thank you

Laura Collins