The £334 million West Yorkshire Housing Investment Fund will unlock land and support stalled schemes across the region, with Leeds South Bank’s 20,000-home programme as its largest single project
The West Yorkshire Housing Investment Fund has been approved at £334 million to unlock land for development and support stalled housing schemes across the region. The programme, agreed at the first Combined Authority meeting since the May local elections, will invest in transformational regeneration projects including Leeds South Bank, which has the potential to deliver around 20,000 homes. The West Yorkshire Housing Investment Fund brings together multiple funding streams into a single flexible programme through the region’s first Integrated Settlement, and is expected to attract further private sector investment. It builds on the £110 million Brownfield Housing Fund, which is set to deliver 6,000 new homes with almost 30 per cent affordable, the highest level of affordable housing delivery in West Yorkshire since the financial crash.
Why This Matters For Leeds
£334 million of public investment into housing delivery is the largest single funding commitment Leeds Today has reported. For the South Bank, this fund provides the financial mechanism behind the 20,000 homes target announced at UKREiiF. It complements £1 billion from Homes England and supports the Mayor’s pledge to deliver 5,000+ affordable homes. For every developer, contractor, and adviser working on Leeds housing this signals sustained public investment alongside private capital already flowing in.
Where the £334m Housing Fund Will Invest
The programme will target transformational regeneration projects across all five West Yorkshire districts. Leeds South Bank is the largest single project, with potential for 20,000 homes across the Mayoral Development Zone. Other priority schemes include Bradford Southern Gateway, new garden communities that could unlock 3,000 homes in Calderdale and 3,000 in Kirklees, and 1,000 homes at Cathedral Quarter in Wakefield. The fund will prioritise brownfield and grey belt sites but is not limited to previously developed land. Tracy Brabin said the investment will build on the region’s housebuilding success and welcomed new members to the Combined Authority from different political backgrounds and said she is confident they can work together.
“We have bold ambitions to deliver thousands of new affordable homes across West Yorkshire that our communities urgently need. This investment will build on the region’s housebuilding success strengthening our delivery pipeline creating jobs and supporting thriving communities.”
— Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
Building on Brownfield Success
The new fund builds on the £110 million Brownfield Housing Fund, which has already demonstrated what devolved housing investment can deliver. That programme is set to produce 6,000 homes with nearly 30 per cent affordable – including schemes like the 82-home Hough Top development in Pudsey that Leeds Today covered, delivered by Willmott Dixon with WYCA brownfield funding. The fund is expected to complement a £1 billion investment from Homes England for new social homes. Taken together, public investment in West Yorkshire housing now spans a £334 million WYCA fund, £1 billion from Homes England, and the £110 million Brownfield Housing Fund. For Leeds, this sits alongside private commitments including Moda Living‘s £400 million fund, Winvic’s £130 million Lisbon Street towers, and Barings’ £152 million Kirkstall Road deal.
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- Learn more about West Yorkshire Combined Authority: https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk
