'Unsafe' former Leeds care home with RAAC to be demolished and turned into flats
Objectors had raised concerns over a lack of family homes in the area
A former Catholic care home can be demolished to make way for apartments after plans were agreed with the council.
The Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of nuns, applied to redevelop part of the former Mount St Joseph’s site in Headingley into 37 flats.
The organisation said the building was found to be unsafe due to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) found in the roof.
Councillors were told the flats scheme would help fund separate plans for a sheltered housing complex, convent and chapel on a neighbouring plot at the site on Shire Oak Road.
Leeds City Council received 57 letters of support for the apartments scheme, including from Alex Sobel MP, along with 19 objections.
Objectors raised concerns over a lack of affordable housing and family homes for the Headingley community.
Anna Douglas, co-chair of Shire Oak Road Residents Association, told a plans panel meeting: “We are not opposed to housing. We are opposed to a missed opportunity.”
Demolition of the existing building would make way for an L-shaped development of up to four storeys in height.
The panel was told it would be built on the northern part of the site, known as Plot B.
Mother Anthony Culliton, representing the charity, said selling part of the site with planning consent was the only way of funding the sheltered housing and convent scheme.
She said: “We are not property developers or here to make money. We are a registered charity with public accounts for all to see.
“We bought our land in Headingley for the people of Leeds. It was funded by the people of Leeds and in selling it, the funds will come in full circle.”
A majority of councillors voted in favour of the apartments plan at the Leeds Civic Hall meeting.
It means final approval is delegated to the city’s chief planning officer, subject to conditions and a legal agreement.
The sheltered housing proposal of 25 homes for vulnerable over-65s was subject to separate planning permission and still under consideration.