Leeds West MP celebrates new affordable housing scheme in Armley

Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves has joined residents, ward councillors and project partners to mark the official opening of Unity Homes and Enterprise’s £2 million affordable housing development in her constituency.
Leeds MP celebrates opening of new Armley affordable housing schemeLeeds MP celebrates opening of new Armley affordable housing scheme
Leeds MP celebrates opening of new Armley affordable housing scheme

The Armley Ridge Road scheme - which includes six houses and eight flats - is located on the site of the former Ancester public house which had fallen derelict.

Supported with a loan from Charity Bank, and grant funding of £420,000 from Homes England, Unity purchased the ground lease from Leeds City Council in September 2017 to build affordable homes for rent.

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Ms Reeves – who chairs the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee - visited the construction site last spring to review progress, and returned recently to see the completed development.

Leeds MP celebrates opening of new Armley affordable housing schemeLeeds MP celebrates opening of new Armley affordable housing scheme
Leeds MP celebrates opening of new Armley affordable housing scheme

Ms Reeves said: “This scheme is absolutely fantastic for the people of Armley. We are in huge need of affordable homes in this area, but also of affordable homes of a such high calibre.

“So many of the private lettings in our community are sadly not of a decent standard. That’s why there has been such demand for properties like these.

“14 families who previously didn’t have this sort of housing are now adequately housed. Not just with the great quality housing, but with a security of tenure that they probably didn’t have before. It’s terrific to have them here.

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“It’s a great place to live - really accessible for jobs in the city centre as well as the shops and amenities in Armley and Kirkstall.

“I’d like to commend Unity, Homes England and Leeds City Council for their foresight to invest in this development and get it to where we are today.”

Ali Akbor, Unity Homes and Enterprise chief executive, said: “These 14 homes, which differ in scale from one-bed flats to three-bed houses, are first-class and stand proudly in a bustling part of the city with which we are very familiar.

“The scheme will provide another boost to Armley and is very much in line with our mission to assist in the revitalisation of local communities. As part of our commitment to local labour, we engaged with the contractors, Esh Construction Ltd, to secure employment for three local people on the site.”