Hough Top Pudsey: First Homes Completed in 82-Property Scheme

Willmott Dixon hands over first homes at Hough Top Pudsey as Leeds Council Housing Growth Programme delivers 82 affordable properties on a former school brownfield site with WYCA funding

The first seven homes have been completed and handed to tenants at Hough Top Pudsey, a milestone for the 82-property affordable housing scheme being delivered by Willmott Dixon on behalf of Leeds City Council. The development on the site of the former Hough Side High School in Swinnow, which was demolished in 2021 and 2022, will provide 55 houses and 27 apartments across one, two, three, and four bedrooms, all available for affordable rent by council tenants. Full completion is expected this winter. The scheme is funded primarily through Right to Buy receipts and council borrowing, with £1.64 million of grant support from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Fund. Around 48,000 sq ft of public open space is also being created.

Why This Matters For Leeds

While headline projects like South Village and the MDZ target thousands of homes, schemes like Hough Top Pudsey show Leeds is delivering affordable housing now. Eighty-two council homes on a brownfield site that has sat empty for years, with tenants already moving in, is tangible progress. Willmott Dixon’s Building Lives Academy brings construction skills training to the area and a derelict school site can become a neighbourhood.

What Hough Top Pudsey Will Deliver

The finished Hough Top Pudsey scheme will comprise 55 houses and 27 apartments with a mix of bedroom sizes to meet different household needs. All properties are energy efficient and available for affordable rent through the council. The 48,000 sq ft of public open space transforms what has been a vacant site since the school buildings were demolished. The project is part of Leeds’s Council Housing Growth Programme, which has already built or acquired hundreds of homes in recent years. Councillor Peter Carlill said the transformation at Hough Top underlines the difference the programme can make to people’s lives and whole communities.

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“Handing over the first seven homes is a significant milestone for Hough Top and above all for the families now moving in. It marks the point at which years of planning and construction begin to make a tangible difference to people’s lives.”

— Chris Yates, Yorkshire Director, Willmott Dixon

Brownfield Delivery Across Leeds

The Brownfield Housing Fund, managed by WYCA, provides grant funding specifically to accelerate delivery on previously developed land. Tracy Brabin said devolution is making a real difference, with £110 million invested to accelerate the delivery of thousands of homes across West Yorkshire. Chris Yates of Willmott Dixon said the team has brought considerable housing expertise to the scheme and is equally focused on the legacy beyond the buildings, creating skills and employment opportunities for local people through the Building Lives Academy programme and engagement with nearby schools and colleges. The scheme adds to Leeds’ housing delivery at a time when the Mayoral Development Zone is targeting 20,000 homes across the South Bank and private developers including Caddick are breaking ground on major residential schemes.