Alderton Heights and Gipton Gate: Five Leeds high-rise blocks of flats could be demolished in just three years as Leeds Council meets to discuss their future

The council says “extensive consultation” has already taken place with residents at Alderton Heights and Gipton Gates, who will be “supported and rehoused” once a decision has been made on the future of the blocks. In a statement, the authority said the blocks required “significant investment” to be brought up to an appropriate standard, which would have been unaffordable.

The decision would involve moving 291 households, as the five blocks are almost fully-occupied. In a report to councillors, officers said they want all of the blocks empty by the end of 2025, with demolition set to start later that year.

A statement from Leeds City Council added: “Although the blocks remain safe at present, the issues cannot remain unaddressed and it was recognised that creating new modern housing on the sites would be lower cost and lower risk than refurbishment. Activity will start to explore how the sites could be developed affordably to provide more energy efficient new homes.

“To enable tenants to find new homes the council propose to award them ‘band A’ priority on their housing applications from 1 November and officers will work closely with them to understand both their needs and preferences.

“At the same time, we also intend to give tenants ‘direct let’ status so that they can be considered for a direct offer of suitable accommodation. Existing tenants who have lived in their homes for 12 months or more will also qualify for compensation.”

The five blocks were opened in 1960, and feature a Large Panel System (LPS) construction, each block 10 storeys high with 60 flats - 30 one bedroom and 30 two bedroom – with 300 homes in total. It is understood, as of September 2022, that 291 of the 300 flats are occupied, with three as owner-occupied via leasehold.

According to the report, refurbishment was out of the question, as the indicative cost was “approximately £130m, averaging at £26m per block”, while a like-for-like new build would cost approximately £100m, or £20m per block.

Coun Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for environment and housing, said: “This decision is something that the council will not take lightly, and we acknowledge the disruption that this will cause to residents. Extensive consultation has been and will continue to take place with all residents affected and most of this consultation has had a very positive response.

"We are absolutely committed to supporting residents through the rehousing process and to successfully move them into new homes that suit them longer-term, whilst working to manage the impact of this on the Leeds Homes Register. We will work with all individual residents to identify their rehousing needs and support them to seek alternative housing. We will continue to undertake regular communications with residents during the rehousing phase to ensure they are updated and supported in the rehousing process.”

A meeting of Leeds City Council’s executive board will meet to discuss the proposals on Wednesday, October 19.