Armley: Green light for affordable homes plan for former Tower Works site

A former industrial site in Armley will be transformed into 50 affordable houses and apartments after council planners gave the green light.

Applicants Yorkshire Housing are the biggest housing association based solely in Yorkshire and want to build 27 new houses and one block of 23 apartments on the demolished Tower Works site, off Moorfield Road.

They say the new development would be 100% affordable housing.

A design and access statement submitted with the application says houses would be a mix of one, two, three and four bedrooms and the apartments would have a mix of one and two bedrooms. Access would be off Moorfield Road.

There were three objections from local residents and one from civic watchdog Leeds Civic Trust.

But a council planning officer’s report concluded: “…Given that the site is an identified housing site in the SAP and permission was granted for a similar scheme in 2018, then the application is considered to be acceptable.

“The development is not considered to be harmful to the character and appearance of the area, nor would it have a harmful impact on highway safety. The development provides 100% affordable housing and this weighs heavily in the balance of considerations.”

The site has seen a series of planning applications over the past six years.

As reported by WLD in 2017, developers KMRE Group – which also owns the land – received planning permission to build an access road with 25 apartments and 26 three and four-bed family homes on the site. 

But the three-year planning consent has since lapsed thanks, in part, to the Covid-19 pandemic, so Yorkshire Housing has returned with fresh proposals for the site, supported by KMRE.

Planning permission was also granted for the construction of 53 flats and 9 houses on the site in December 2009.

Tower Works used to house the now demolished Leeds Meter Company, which was formed in 1931. It later became Kent Meters and then ABB Kents.

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