Hough Top

Read our latest Hough Top community newsletter here.

Our team of housing experts is working with Leeds City Council to deliver a scheme that is easing housing pressures in Leeds by providing dozens of affordable council homes.

The Hough Top scheme is delivering a total of 82 high-quality, energy-efficient homes on a former school site in Swinnow, near Pudsey – and has now reached a key milestone, with the first seven homes completed and handed over to tenants. Work is proceeding at pace on the rest of the development, with full completion expected in winter 2026.

The scheme, which is being delivered via Leeds's Council Housing Growth Programme (CHGP) with funding support from West Yorkshire Combined Authority's Brownfield Housing Fund, comprises 55 houses and 27 apartments, with a mix of one, two, three and four bedrooms. The apartments sit within a new three-storey building named Hough Top Court, with the site's roads named Hough Common, Hough Fold and Hough Drive.

The homes are suitable for adaptation and fitted with individual air source heat pumps – a sustainable heating solution that helps cut carbon emissions, tackle fuel poverty and give tenants welcome assistance with the cost of living.

All the properties are being made available for affordable rent, giving an important helping hand to families in a part of Leeds that has significant housing needs.

Around 4,500 square metres of public open space is also being created at the 2.5-hectare site, which had lain empty since the demolition of the former Hough Side High School buildings in 2021 and 2022.

Driving social mobility

The development is also benefiting the wider community by creating a range of employment, skills and apprenticeship opportunities through a tie-in programme of social value activity, including apprentice training weeks, school engagement and career mentoring for local people. Our focus here includes 125 apprentice weeks, 73 school engagement hours and nearly 80 career mentoring hours.

We led the pre-construction work at the site, which was earmarked for housing use in Leeds's Site Allocations Plan, a key planning policy document adopted by the council in 2019. Located in an established residential area, it has good access to public transport, green space and local services.

The majority of the funding for the scheme is being provided by the council's housing service via Right to Buy receipts and borrowing, with £1.64m of grant support coming from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority's Brownfield Housing Fund.

Chris Yates, Yorkshire director at Willmott Dixon, said:

"We're delighted to see the first homes at Hough Top completed and welcoming their tenants. From the outset, this has been about more than delivering high-quality, energy-efficient housing – it's about leaving a lasting legacy for the local community. Through our Building Lives Academy and our work with local schools, colleges and supply chain partners, we've created real opportunities for local people, and we're proud of the social value this scheme is generating as it nears completion."

Councillor Peter Carlill, Leeds City Council's executive member for transport and planning, said:

"We are determined to do everything we can to deliver good quality, energy efficient and affordable council housing in communities across the city. It's great news, therefore, that the first homes at our Hough Top scheme have been completed and their tenants are now settling into them.

"I was delighted to have the chance to visit the site this week to see the new houses and the progress being made on the rest of the development. The transformation taking place at Hough Top really does underline the difference that our Council Housing Growth Programme – and partnership working – can make to individual lives and whole communities."

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

"I'm delighted we're bringing more high-quality homes to west Leeds.

"We believe that having a safe and secure place to live is a fundamental right, which is why we're investing vital funds to deliver thousands of much-needed homes across West Yorkshire. Together with our partners like Leeds City Council, we're dedicated to building a greener, more secure region for future generations."

More than 350 new homes have been built via the council's CHGP since 2018, with hundreds more acquired as part of the programme – together playing a crucial role in easing local affordable housing pressures. By increasing the number of appropriate properties available to tenants looking to downsize, the programme has also helped free up homes best suited to larger families.

Recent new-build CHGP successes include a 33-home scheme at Brooklands Avenue in Seacroft and a 55-home development in the Ambertons area of Gipton, while in Middleton 176 homes – including the 60-apartment Gascoigne House extra care facility – have been built on land previously occupied by Throstle Recreation Ground and Middleton Skills Centre. Schemes 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.