Leeds tenants move into new Hough Top council homes: practical information

By Munisha Newsroom

Published: 7 June 2026

The first tenants have moved into a new council housing development at Hough Top in Swinnow, where Leeds City Council is building 82 affordable homes on the site of a former school.

Seven houses have now been completed and handed over, marking the first occupied phase of the scheme near Pudsey. The remaining homes are still under construction, with the full development expected to be finished this winter.

The project is being delivered through the Council Housing Growth Programme and will provide homes for affordable rent by council tenants in an area where demand remains high for properties of different sizes.

First homes handed over at Hough Top

The development has been taking shape since the end of 2024 on land previously occupied by Hough Side High School. The school buildings were demolished in 2021 and 2022, leaving a large brownfield site available for new housing.

For the first households now moving in, the handover means the scheme has shifted from construction site to lived-in neighbourhood. Council housing projects often take years to move from funding and planning to keys being issued, so the arrival of tenants is the point at which the public investment begins to change day-to-day life.

Councillor Peter Carlill, Leeds City Council’s executive member for transport and planning, said the council was working to deliver “good quality, energy efficient and affordable council housing” across the city. He said tenants were now settling into the first homes and that progress at Hough Top showed what the Council Housing Growth Programme could mean for residents and communities.

Affordable rent homes for different household sizes

When complete, Hough Top will include 55 houses and 27 apartments. The homes will range from one-bedroom properties to four-bedroom family homes, giving the scheme a mix intended to meet different housing needs.

All 82 properties are due to be made available for affordable rent by council tenants. That matters in west Leeds because the pressure on social and affordable housing is not confined to one type of household: single people, older residents, couples, parents and larger families can all face long waits for suitable homes.

The homes are also being built with energy efficiency measures, including individual air source heat pumps. The council says these are expected to help tenants with living costs, a practical detail at a time when household bills remain a major concern for renters.

Around 4,500 square metres of public open space will also be created at the site. That will give the development a wider community element beyond the homes themselves, particularly because the land had been unused since the former school buildings came down.

Brownfield funding and local training

Most of the funding for Hough Top is being provided by the council’s housing service through Right to Buy receipts and borrowing. The scheme has also received £1.64 million in grant support from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Fund.

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said delivering affordable homes was especially significant while people faced cost of living pressure. She linked the scheme to the combined authority’s wider £110 million investment aimed at accelerating the delivery of homes across West Yorkshire.

Willmott Dixon is the lead contractor on the project. Alongside the construction work, the company has run social value activity connected to the scheme, including 125 apprentice training weeks, nearly 75 hours of school engagement and career mentoring for local people.

Chris Yates, Yorkshire director at Willmott Dixon, said handing over the first seven homes was a milestone for the families moving in. He said the company was also focused on “creating skills and employment opportunities for local people” through its Building Lives Academy programme and work with nearby schools and colleges.

Leeds housing programme continues across the city

The Hough Top scheme sits within a wider push to build and acquire council homes through Leeds’s Council Housing Growth Programme. Recent new-build projects include 33 homes at Brooklands Avenue in Seacroft and 55 homes in the Ambertons area of Gipton.

Another completed programme site in Middleton delivered 176 homes, including the 60-apartment Gascoigne House extra care facility, on land formerly occupied by Throstle Recreation Ground and Middleton Skills Centre.

Munisha has also reported on another Leeds affordable housing plan, where a former Seacroft eyesore is set to become new council homes.

Work is continuing at Hough Top through the rest of 2026, with Leeds City Council expecting the remaining houses and apartments to be completed this winter.

Source: Leeds City Council

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This article is based on Leeds City Council’s announcement and checked against the named scheme details, funding figures and completion timeline in the source text.

Checks

• Confirmed the development location as Hough Top in Swinnow, near Pudsey.
• Checked the stated total of 82 homes, made up of 55 houses and 27 apartments.
• Checked the reported handover of the first seven houses to tenants.
• Checked the winter completion timetable and the £1.

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Leeds City Council

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Leeds

Updated

2026-06-07 21:24

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Article contextPeople & topics3#7

Peter CarlillTracy BrabinChris Yates

#affordable rent#brownfield housing#Council Housing Growth Programme#Hough Top#Leeds housing#Pudsey#Swinnow

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