Willmott Dixon has won a £9.3m construction contract with Leeds City Council to deliver affordable homes in Gipton and Osmondthorpe
The announcement follows two recent contract wins worth over £40m to create more than 100 affordable homes in Salford for Salix Homes and 147 homes on a nine-acre site in Simonsway for Wythenshawe Community Housing Group.
This latest construction contract will see Willmott Dixon build 59 new homes on two sites in East Leeds as part of Leeds City Council’s Housing Growth Programme which aims to contribute over 300 new council homes towards the city’s overall annual target of 1,230 new affordable homes from 2019 onwards.
The new developments, some of the first social housing the council has embarked on in the last 20 years, will be named after the streets they’re located on, The Beeches and The Nevilles, with funding secured through Homes England.
Stuart Kerr, director for Willmott Dixon: “These two schemes are hugely important projects for Leeds and Leeds City Council, so we are proud to be part of their creation. The developments will make a huge difference to their local communities by providing something that is always in high demand, housing.
“We are very excited to now be on site, especially as these are the first social housing developments in Leeds for the last two decades.
“Over the duration of The Beeches and The Nevilles scheme, we have committed to investing 10% back into the local community, equating to a monetary value of £930k. This will see us working with local school and colleges, on community projects, as well as ensuring that at least 80% of local spend and labour is within ten miles of the site.”
All homes will meet the council’s Leeds Housing Standard in terms of design quality, space and energy efficiency, and will deliver reduced running costs for residents, contributing to reductions in fuel poverty in the city.
The affordable homes, which have been designed by Halsall Lloyd Partnership, are due for completion in July 2020.
