Leeds City Council has submitted a planning application for 79 affordable homes on the site of the former Kingsdale Court flats in the Boggart Hill area of Seacroft, after demolishing the complex having acquired it from private ownership.
The proposed development would comprise 20 houses, each with two or three bedrooms, and two buildings providing a total of 59 one- or two-bedroom apartments. Documents lodged with the application set out how the homes would transform what the council has described as an unsightly blot on the local landscape into a welcoming, well-designed and sustainable neighbourhood.
The new properties, for rent by people on the council’s housing register, would have a contemporary external appearance and generous internal floor space. Energy efficiency would be boosted by measures including enhanced insulation, ground source heat pumps and photovoltaic solar panels, alongside electric vehicle infrastructure and bike storage.
A comprehensive landscaping programme is also planned, with new trees and ornamental planting. Each house would have a private garden, while communal areas would be created for residents in the apartments.
The mix of property types is intended to reflect housing need in the Killingbeck & Seacroft council ward, where there is high demand for one- and two-bedroom homes. Plans were shaped by consultation with local residents and other stakeholders, with architectural and design services provided by NPS Leeds, the council’s joint venture partner.
Subject to planning permission, the scheme would be delivered through Leeds’s Council Housing Growth Programme (CHGP), which has already built or acquired hundreds of homes in recent years.
Councillor Peter Carlill, Leeds City Council’s executive member for transport and planning, said: “A lot of hard work has already gone into our efforts to regenerate this site, where the privately-owned and now-demolished flats had been allowed to deteriorate and decay.”
He added: “It’s great news, therefore, that we have reached the point where we have been able to submit a planning application for its proposed housing scheme. If approved, these affordable homes will give their tenants the kind of security and stability that comes with having a safe, warm and welcoming place to live.”
He continued: “They will also provide further proof of the value of our Council Housing Growth Programme and the positive difference it is making to communities across Leeds.”
Kingsdale Court was built in the 1960s and was for many years blighted by poor housing conditions and dwindling occupancy, as well as issues linked to crime and anti-social behaviour. The council’s acquisition of the site’s 88 flats — all of which were privately owned — along with its freehold and associated management rights, was concluded in May 2025. The acquisition process had started in 2020 and involved lengthy negotiations with around 35 individual property owners.
Notable recent CHGP successes include a 33-home scheme at Brooklands Avenue in Seacroft and a 55-home development in the Ambertons area of Gipton. Projects currently under construction include the Middlecross development in Armley, which will provide 65 apartments for affordable rent by people aged over 55 with care and support needs, and a scheme at Hough Top in Swinnow, near Pudsey, which will deliver 82 homes, also for affordable rent.
