Housing upgrade milestone is heartwarming news for Holbeck

Leeds City Council is giving more than 150 back-to-backs in Holbeck energy efficiency upgrades so they are easier and cheaper to heat, a vital consideration for residents with concerns about cold-related illness and fuel poverty.

The retrofitted improvements are the first scheme to be delivered through Heart of Holbeck – a £15.9m regeneration programme that will also breathe new life into community buildings and public spaces.

And, 10 months on from the start of the work, more than 100 homes – spread across roads to the west of Holbeck Moor, including Rydall Place, Rydall Terrace, Shafton Street, Shafton View and Crosby Terrace – have now had their upgrades completed. 

To mark that milestone, Councillor Asghar Khan – Leeds’s executive member for housing and hubs – joined representatives from the council’s construction partner, sustainable regeneration specialist Equans, in Holbeck to see first-hand the difference the scheme is already making.

The visit came as other schemes in the wider Heart of Holbeck programme continue to move closer to starting on site. Latest progress includes:

• The submission of an application for planning permission to turn Domestic Street’s Old Box Office building into a modern and flexible multi-use community space, enhancing health and wellbeing opportunities for local people;
• The submission of a second planning application which, if approved, would see St Matthew’s Community Centre transformed with a revamped main hall and the construction of new facilities and features such as a café, social seating area, kitchen and mezzanine level;
• Proposed designs are now in place, following consultation work over the summer, for the programme’s Local Centre scheme, which will make roads and green spaces – such as Domestic Street, Top Moor Side and Holbeck Moor – cleaner, safer and more accessible while delivering improved routes for pedestrians and cyclists.

Due for completion by spring 2028, Heart of Holbeck aims to reduce deprivation and create a welcoming and attractive environment with better connectivity between the area’s different neighbourhoods.

Crucially, its various schemes have also been designed to collectively support and enhance the physical and mental wellbeing of residents, with the programme expected to become a national exemplar of health-oriented regeneration.

Heart of Holbeck has been funded by central government and is being led by the council alongside partners Leeds Building Society and the Holbeck Together charity.

The overall programme complements other significant regeneration projects in south Leeds and the city’s South Bank area, including the redevelopment of land around Leeds United’s Elland Road ground, the creation of a wellbeing and sports hub on the former Matthew Murray High School site and efforts to bring Holbeck’s historic Temple Works building back into use.

These in turn align with the Leeds Ambitions, the council’s city-wide plan for improving people’s health, tackling inequality and facilitating the growth of safe, strong and clean communities that work for everyone, and Leeds’s proposed Mayoral Development Zone, which aims to support the delivery of new homes, jobs and public spaces.

Councillor Mary Harland, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for communities and community safety, said:

“Heart of Holbeck is a hugely exciting programme and I’m delighted that it’s already having a positive impact.

“The housing upgrades are a great example of how the programme will make Holbeck a cleaner, greener and, perhaps most importantly, healthier place to live.

“This is an area that has had challenges over the years, but – with the help of partners – we are confident we can bring about positive and lasting change.

“I’m also really pleased that our vision for an improved Holbeck is one that complements and connects with the regeneration activity happening in other communities across south Leeds.”

The homes benefiting from the upgrade work – which is due to be completed in spring next year – are a mix of council, owner occupied and private rental sector properties.

Improvements include new roofs, the insulation of attic rooms and roof voids, chimney repairs, guttering and downpipe replacement and the installation of double-glazed windows and secure, thermally efficient doors.

The application of external wall insulation with a brick-slip finish also makes the properties more visually appealing, while the sprucing up of communal areas such as bin yards enhances the wider street-scene.

Similar improvements to around 300 homes in Holbeck were carried out by the council prior to the launch of the current regeneration programme.

Councillor Asghar Khan, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing and hubs, said:

“As a council, we’re determined to use every tool at our disposal to ensure that people across Leeds have the stability and sense of security provided by a safe and welcoming home.

“Many of Holbeck’s back-to-back terraces are more than 100 years old and, as such, are harder and more expensive to keep warm than modern properties.

“These energy efficiency upgrades will, we hope, give residents – particularly those who are older or more vulnerable – greater comfort and peace of mind, while also making them less susceptible to cold-related illness.

“My thanks go to all those at the council and Equans whose hard work has helped the retrofitting scheme make such impressive progress since it got under way at the start of the year.”

Sean Corcoran, regional director at Equans, said:

“We’re proud to be working in partnership with Leeds City Council and the local community to improve existing homes in Holbeck in support of the wider transformation of the area.

“Investing in these homes will have a long-lasting impact on the people who live here, not only making the properties warmer but making them more affordable to heat too – placing much-needed funds back in the pockets of residents.”

Owned by Leeds Building Society, the Old Box Office is a former cinema that dates back to the 1910s. Part of its ground floor is currently used by Holbeck Together as office space, with the rest of the building standing vacant. Subject to the award of planning permission, Leeds Building Society is due to carry out the renovation of the Old Box Office from early 2027 before gifting full ownership of the building to Holbeck Together. Plans include a reception area, a community supermarket and kitchen, a new home for Holbeck Together charity shop re:loved, offices and room for other organisations and services. 

St Matthew’s Community Centre, a Grade II listed former church on St Matthew’s Street, is owned by the council and run by Holbeck Together. The proposed refurbishment of the building would involve work to conserve its historic exterior as well as the changes to its internal layout and offer. If approved, the scheme is scheduled to start in summer next year.

Elissa Newman, chief officer of Holbeck Together, said:

"One of the most exciting things at the moment is that the wider Heart of Holbeck programme is beginning to move from plans and conversations into visible change.

“The next stage submission for redevelopment of St Matthew’s, if successful, will further transform our ability as a community anchor to support the local community with their ever-changing and increasing needs."

Note to editors:

Holbeck was one of Leeds’s industrial powerhouses for much of the 19th century, a period when many back-to-back homes were built to cater for the rapidly expanding local population. The effects of the decline of heavy industry during the 20th century are still being felt in the area today, with around 75 per cent of children living in low-income families. Life expectancy for both men and women, meanwhile, is below the city average. As of 2021, the Beeston & Holbeck council ward had an above-average percentage of households in fuel poverty compared to the rest of Leeds.

ENDS