The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Dan Cohen, has cut the ground on a highly anticipated Leeds Jewish Housing Association (LJHA) development of 28 affordable homes on the Queenshill estate in the north of the city.
The Lord and Lady Mayoress of Leeds join project partners and guests for the ground cutting ceremony on the site of LJHA’s new affordable homes scheme
The new properties – made up of 14 two-bed and 12 three-bed homes, a two-bed apartment and a one-bed adapted ground floor apartment – form the second phase of a two-phase Leeds LJHA scheme part-funded by Homes England.
The first phase – opened in 2022 and named Best Housing Development at the Chartered Institute of Housing Northern Awards 2023 – comprises 85 new properties including 51 sheltered housing apartments for residents aged 55 and over, and 34 general needs apartments.
Phase two, known as The Island Site, is due for completion in spring 2026.
Joined by Lady Mayoress Mrs Elayna Cohen, ward councillors, community representatives, project partners, LJHA Board members and residents, Councillor Cohen described the new development as “a landmark moment” which will provide “really needed affordable family homes.”
The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Dan Cohen, cuts the first sod on LJHA’s new affordable homes development which is due for completion next spring
He said: “The contribution that the construction of these new family homes is going to make to the Leeds Jewish community, and to the wider community in delivering much needed family homes, is incalculable.
“Leeds Jewish Housing Association has a proud history, not just of delivering what the community needs in terms of housing, but it's the quality of the housing, it's the caring nature of the support of its residents.
“That makes me so proud, here in Leeds, to have Leeds Jewish Housing Association as part of the fabric of our community. I wish you every success.”
LJHA Chair Jonathan Shaw thanked the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress for attending and paid tribute to Sheffield Jewish Housing Association and the Brown family for their generosity, together with LJHA staff, volunteer board members and residents for their support on the project.
He told guests that the association’s vision is to provide “good quality affordable homes primarily for the Jewish community.”
Although LJHA owns around 500 homes, Mr Shaw explained that only 37 were family houses with many families on a waiting list.
He said: “I am really delighted therefore, that leading Leeds construction company Jack Lunn are starting to build these 28 new homes for families in our community.
“These are families who will be able to live affordably in Leeds 17 to bring up their children with access to our synagogues, our schools, The Zone Youth Club and the MAZ Community Centre.”
LJHA Chief Executive Mark Grandfield said the new homes would link well with the completed phase one properties, each having their own separate lounge and kitchen diners, private gardens, private parking and future-proofed heating systems.
He continued: “With our last plot of developable land, we have created as many properties as viable whilst maintaining good quality homes with their own private space.
“They will replace some very tired properties and rejuvenate the Queenshill estate.”
Karen Bryant, Community Liaison Representative at Jack Lunn Limited, said she was proud to be partnering with LJHA on the scheme.
She said: “We are a local construction company, and this isn't the first time our paths have crossed. Jack Lunn worked with Leeds Jewish Housing Association in the 1980s including building the Green Park scheme, a sheltered complex of 27 flats and bungalows for the over 55s.
“The quality of the building isn't simply in the end product. It also comes through the thought, consideration and intention imbued in the project whilst it's being constructed.
“As part of our commitment here, we're also working as volunteers with St Gemma's Hospice, and Leeds North and West Food Bank. At Jack Lunn, we don't just build houses, we contribute to building communities.”