Partners will also recruit a private housebuilder to help revive east and south-east of city
Leeds council has joined forces with two arm's-length management organisations to form a regeneration vehicle for the east of the city.

The council is looking for a private housebuilder to join the as-yet unnamed joint venture, which aims to replace 2000 redundant council homes with private developments in east and south-east Leeds.

It will press ahead with the plan despite fears the two ALMOs – Leeds East Homes and Leeds South East Homes – may not get the two-star ratings they need to draw down government funding (HT 27 February, page 11).

The council, which faces at least a £79m shortfall in its regeneration plan for the east of the city, hopes to attract private investment in exchange for land estimated to be worth £30m.

If the joint venture proves successful and land values rise as a result of the developments, the council will consider replicating it across the entire city.

Richard Lewis, the council's cabinet member for housing, said: "We are still talking in terms of ideas at this stage, but it's definitely something we want to go forward. The ALMOs will be key but it's not dependent on the ALMO star ratings."

He added that the board membership of the joint venture was still to be decided.

The scheme is being piloted in east and south-east Leeds because these areas suffer from significantly lower demand than the rest of the city. The land value is just £100,000 per acre in the area, compared to up to £1m per acre in other parts of the city, according to Steve Hunt, chief executive of Leeds East Homes.

Hunt said the joint venture could also be used to build new council homes, if that was required, but that details were still being worked out.

Leeds East Homes believes the joint venture will help provide the extra £79m it needs to regenerate its estates.

Although the ALMO will have £136m to meet the decent homes standard by 2010, it lacks the funds to carry out any major structural work.

Hunt said: "We could make the properties decent, but then the houses could fall down. We need an extra £100m to address these issues."

Working with the new venture, Leeds East Homes plans to respond by clearing 2500 of its 12,500 homes that require the most investment to bring them up to scratch.

The resulting vacant 120 ha site will then be developed by the regeneration joint venture.

Developers wanting to join the joint venture are requested to submit expressions of interest by 29 March.

Source

Housing Today