Out-Law News 1 min. read
08 Jan 2015, 4:34 pm
The Council's core strategy, adopted last November, requires the provision of 74,000 new homes in Leeds by 2028, a net increase of 70,000 homes with an estimated 4,000 to be demolished in the city during the plan period. According to a report prepared for a meeting of the Council's development plan panel on 13 January, sites have been identified for more than 66,000 of the new homes.
The report (41-page / 354 KB PDF) said that 30,722 homes were already awaiting start or under construction in the Council's administrative area and identified sites for the delivery of a further 35,573 homes. Of the 66,295 homes proposed in the report, 46,394 would be within Leeds city centre and the main urban area.
A further 10,234 homes would be allocated in or around major settlements under the proposals, and 5,808 homes in or around smaller settlements.
The Council said in a statement that 62% of the land allocated for development would be brownfield land and 20% would be within the existing green belt under the plans. It said that the Council intended to reclassify an area of rural land as green belt to provide a net increase in the area of the city's green belt.
The Council's executive member for neighbourhoods, planning and personnel, councillor Peter Gruen, said in the statement:
"Providing 66,000 new homes is a challenging ambition but one in line with the city’s aim to be the best in the UK. People will be interested to see how much is being proposed in their area, but I would say we have tried to be fair across the city, with a clear policy on brownfield sites being used first and bringing back into use existing empty buildings in order to help protect the green belt. People should also look at what we are protecting and excluding from development."
“With the core strategy now in place we can get on with progressing these programmes to drive the city forward promoting growth across Leeds and ensuring it is a great place to live and work," said Gruen.
The Council said the proposals would be discussed by its executive board in February and a draft site allocations plan was expected to be produced for consultation later this year.