Kingsdale Court, Seacroft: Leeds City Council to push ahead with demolition of derelict site after flats acquisition

Plans for new council housing on the site of Kingsdale Court in Seacroft have “taken a significant step forward” following Leeds City Council’s acquisition of the 88th and final flat on the site.

For five years Leeds City Council has been working to secure ownership of all land and property at the complex of eight tower blocks in the Boggart Hill neighbourhood, which has long-standing issues linked to crime, anti-social behaviour and ineffective management.

As of September last year, 87 of the privately-owned flats – many of which were in a very poor condition and already vacant – had been successfully acquired by the council, along with the freehold for the site and associated management rights.

Yesterday (Thursday) it was confirmed that the 88th and final flat had been acquired, bringing the site as a whole into council ownership without any need for the use of compulsory purchase powers.

The deal means that the council can now press ahead with its plans to demolish the site and bring forward development proposals for “good quality, energy efficient and affordable” new-build council housing on the cleared site.

Detailed design work on the scheme has yet to be completed but at this stage it is hoped that more than 50 homes will be built.

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said “The comprehensive regeneration of the site would support the council and its partners in their efforts to tackle deprivation and improve living standards across the wider Boggart Hill area.”

Built around the turn of the 1970s, Kingsdale Court had been in a state of serious decline for many years when the council began its acquisition process in 2020. The scale of issues on Kingsdale Court became public the year prior when the authorities temporarily shut down and evacuated two of the blocks amid a serious fire risk and rats infesting the buildings.

The acquisition process involved lengthy negotiations with around 35 individual property owners as well as the freeholder.

The spokesperson said: “Fragmented and failing arrangements for the management and upkeep of the buildings had previously contributed to a dramatic deterioration in housing conditions at a time when problems such as fly tipping, criminal damage and drug use were also causing concern for residents in both Kingsdale Court and the surrounding neighbourhood.”

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The council has secured vacant possession for the entire site, with former sitting tenants having been offered rehousing assistance, and hoardings are now due to go up.

Councillor Jess Lennox, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said: “As a council, we are determined to do everything we can to tackle inequality and boost living standards in communities across Leeds.

“My thanks go to everyone at the council who has been involved in the complex process of bringing together the many and varied ownership interests at the flats.”

She added: “The conclusion of the final purchase means we can, subject to planning approval, now look to open a bright new chapter for this part of east Leeds.

“The proposed homes will help to ease local affordable housing pressures, while the transformation of the site as a whole will, we believe, have a really positive impact on the wider Boggart Hill and Seacroft areas.”