A major regeneration scheme set to deliver nearly 2,000 homes in Leeds has moved a significant step closer after securing £16 million in government funding.
Homes England has confirmed it will provide the infrastructure grant to developer Caddick Group to support the delivery of Leeds South Village, a large-scale mixed-use development planned for the city’s South Bank.
The investment will fund key infrastructure works across the long-derelict brownfield site, including roads, utilities, footpaths, cycleways and extensive green spaces, paving the way for the transformation of the former industrial land into a new urban neighbourhood.
The scheme already has outline planning consent for 1,925 homes, including affordable housing, alongside commercial space and public green areas. The development forms part of wider regeneration efforts across Leeds South Bank, one of the city’s largest renewal zones.
The announcement comes as West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and Leeds City Council leader James Lewis unveiled proposals for a new Mayoral Development Zone covering a broad section of Leeds city centre. Subject to approval by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the zone aims to unlock up to 20,000 new homes, jobs, cultural destinations and commercial developments.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the funding would help transform neglected brownfield land into “thriving places where people want to live”, while also creating jobs, community facilities and green spaces.
Homes England chief executive Amy Rees said the agency was committed to accelerating regeneration projects through long-term partnerships and targeted funding, helping redundant sites become sustainable communities for future generations.
Tom Bridges, executive regional director for the North East and Yorkshire at Homes England, described Leeds South Village as an example of how collaboration between local leaders, government and developers could unlock major regeneration opportunities.
Lee Savage, director at Caddick and project lead for South Village, said the funding represented a “major milestone” for both the project and the wider South Bank regeneration vision.
He said the infrastructure works, now beginning on site, were significant in scale and complexity and would lay the foundations for rapid future development.
Leeds City Council leader James Lewis said momentum across the South Bank was continuing to build, citing ongoing developments around Elland Road and future projects near the Royal Armouries.
Mayor Tracy Brabin said the scheme would help deliver much-needed affordable housing while creating “thriving communities” and protecting green space, adding that the project demonstrated how devolution was helping drive investment and regeneration across West Yorkshire.
