Decision due as dozens of homes could be bulldozed on former Leeds mining estate

A Leeds City Council plans panel is set to make the call on whether to allow developers to bulldoze pre-fab homes in Wandsworth Drive and Sugar Hill Close in Oulton and replace them with a mix of detached and semi-detached houses.

It follows months of protests from campaigners and residents of the area, who claimed the plans to demolish the current houses could “destroy” a community some have lived in for decades.

Developers Pemberstone submitted a planning application in 2017, and claimed the 1950s-build pre-cast concrete homes are now so old that refurbishing them is no longer viable. It also stated it would rehouse those on the estate with protected tenancies.

The proposals previously came before the authority’s south and west plans panel on May 30, but panel members deferred it, stating they needed more information to make a decision.

As in May, an updated report from council officers states the plans are sound, and recommends supporting the proposals in principle and delegating the final details to a planning officer.

It states that 33 conditions should be met by the developer. These include a time limit of three years on building work to start, landscaping and tree preservation, and electric vehicle charging points. It added that 11 of the planned properties should be affordable housing.

It adds that the plans themselves have also been altered to slightly reduce the number of four-bed houses and increase the number of two and three bed houses.

The council report concludes: “Additional details and advice are given above on matters that were deemed to be outstanding at the last panel meeting. The opinion of the LPA is not changed, the development is still considered to be compliant with policy and would deliver a quality housing scheme that represents sustainable development and will help to improve the health and well-being of local residents.”

A previous council report published in May states that the applicant is obliged to re-house 12 sets of tenants, who currently have regulated or assured tenancies on the site. A statement from Pemberstone also claimed it planned to create another 11 housing association homes, and that Leeds City Council had to power to keep those for people currently living on the estate,

When panel members previously met to discuss the plans, they agreed the item needed to be brought back to the panel for further discussions about issues such as design quality, garden sizes and impact on communities.

On the issue of design quality, the new report states: “Following the panel meeting officers and the applicant have worked together on revising the overall design and appearance of the properties and the layout.

“The comments around design included that the houses did not appear of particularly high quality and that there was a lack of overlooking onto the green fields to the east so discussions have sought to address these concerns. This has led to changes to layout and house design which is considered to provide a higher quality design.”

It also claimed that the estate now has a number of different styles of house, mainly from the 1980s and 90s, which “have no particular character”.

On garden sizes, members of the panel claimed in May that the new gardens looked significantly smaller than the ones currently enjoyed by residents. The new report claims that proposed garden sizes have been assessed, and provide “good quality private amenity space”.

A statement from Pemberstone read: “There are 12 households on the estate who have old style tenancies which entitle them to be re-housed on the estate. There are just nine other tenants who have lived there for more than 10 years.

“If permission is granted, the 12 tenants with the old tenancies would be entitled to stay on the estate in new, high quality, warm, accessible homes with lower energy bills. The plan would also create 11 new housing association homes and Leeds City Council would have the power to specify that they are let to existing tenants.

“We would also continue negotiations with housing associations with a view to them taking on the entire site. Two have already expressed an interest though neither is willing to take on the existing properties.”

The panel will meet on Thursday, October 3.

Q&A

What do the developers want to do?

The plans involve demolishing 70 houses in Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive in Oulton, and to replace them with 70 new homes – a mix of two, three and four bedroom properties.

What’s wrong with the houses there at the moment?

The houses, known as Airey homes, were designated as “defective” in the 1985 housing act.

They were constructed in the 1950s with a certain type of reinforced concrete which, in many cases, has seen structural deterioration over the years.

It was claimed at a council meeting back in May that the estimated the cost to bring the properties up to a decent standard could be as much as £45,000 per house.

Why are people upset about this?

Campaigners claim that many people who live in the estate could be forced to move away, and that this could “destroy” the community.

They added that most of the tenants are not on protected tenancies and would face an uncertain future if the plans were agreed.

What will happen to the people living there?

As of May this year, there are currently four assured and eight regulated tenancies on the site, known as “long term” tenants. The applicant is, by law, obliged to re-house these 12 tenants.

The company said it had no plans for a wholesale demolition – and wanted to reassure residents that if planning consent is granted it would be offering all those on standard tenancies the opportunity to extend their leases for two years.

What have the developers said about this?

In a statement from May this year, developers Pemberstone claimed the homes were “well past their expected lifespan” and that the remainder of the original estate has already been redeveloped.

It added: “The best solution, we believe, is to build new. All regulated and assured tenants will be in adaptable housing. It creates modern, comfortable and energy efficient homes.”

Why has it taken so long to get to this point?

The south and west plans panel last met to discuss the scheme in May 2019. Although it had been expected to come to a decision that day, councillors on the panel deferred a decision, claiming they needed more information on design and community cohesion issues.

What might happen?

The new report claims that previous concerns from councillors have now been addressed and that the decision should be deferred and delegated to a planning officer.

This would mean the panel would, in principle, support the idea, and allow council officers to work with the developers to iron out the details to allow the plan to take place.

However, as this was recommended at the last meeting but not agreed, such an outcome is still uncertain.