£20m funding boost to redevelop disused land in West Yorkshire
The cash from the government could help with the revamp of the Leeds South Bank area, as well as Bradford’s City Village scheme
West Yorkshire Combined Authority has been awarded the cash to extend its Brownfield Housing Fund – a scheme that has seen millions allocated to redevelop long empty Bradford buildings.
The extra government funding has been confirmed ahead of a meeting of the full West Yorkshire Combined Authority this Thursday.
The Authority says the funding could help with the redevelopment of Leeds South Bank area, as well as Bradford’s City Village and Southern Gateway developments.
The extra funding takes West Yorkshire’s Brownfield Housing Fund to £110 million.
The fund was set up to help kick start stalled housing developments, particularly in areas where it would not be viable for developers to build on a site without any public funding.
The Authority says that the uplift means construction of hundreds of additional homes will start by March 2029, taking the programme’s overall figure to over 6,000 homes.
Schemes in Bradford that have received funding so far include to under construction developments – the Canal 30 development that will see a derelict warehouse building on Canal Road converted into 70 flats, and the conversion of Galem House in Goitside to 77 flats.
The Bradford City Village development of around 1,000 homes in the city centre is also receiving cash from the fund.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “Everyone deserves a safe and secure roof over their head, and this extra funding is a strong vote of confidence in our housebuilding success.
“By regenerating brownfield land first, we’re building the right homes in the right places – affordable, cheaper-to-heat and better-connected – all while protecting our vital green spaces.
“Devolution is working for West Yorkshire, empowering us to deliver record numbers of affordable homes, to give people the security that can only start with a decent home.”
A spokesperson for the authority said: “The region’s wider pipeline of projects includes flagship regeneration schemes such as Bradford City Village and the Bradford Southern Gateway, which will bring new homes, jobs, public spaces and transport connectivity to the heart of the city.”
It has also just been announced that the Combined Authority has also been awarded £100,000 from the government’s new Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery initiative – part of a wider £84 million package to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping this Winter.