New Wortley Community Association (NWCA) has been successful in securing a grant to develop an exciting Community Led Housing project in West Leeds. This is a positive boost for the local community and builds upon the success of a number of other initiatives which NWCA already have up and running in the area.
This local charity has major ambitions to improve the quality of life of residents of New Wortley. In recent years it has attracted over £2million pounds of direct investment into New Wortley, creating 20 jobs for local people and seeing 36 volunteers go into work (in the last 18 months).
NWCA has also launched an award winning new Community Centre and works with local residents and ex-offenders in projects described as innovative, highly effective and life changing.
Community Leader Bill Graham said: “we’re now turning our focus to Community Led Housing. We want to build housing that is affordable to rent and that is designed to enhance and improve the area around the Holdforths and Clydes estate”.
Councillor Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council’s executive member for regeneration, transport and planning, said:
“It is absolutely vital that as a city we ensure every possible opportunity to build more affordable housing in Leeds is explored. Community Led Housing delivery is very much a key element of assisting to meet this need.
“ It is extremely positive news that the NWCA have secured funding from Power to Change to support their community led housing ambitions for the Holdforths and Clydes estate. NWCA deserve great credit for their hard work in developing their proposals so far and I will look forward to see how they progress in the future.’’
A project team has been assembled including The Project Office (architects associated with Leeds Beckett University) COGS (community consultation specialists) Hodsons Architects, BWA (cost Consultants) Goodwin Trust in Hull, and Leeds Community Homes.
Power to Change – a national fund keen to promote community businesses in England – has agreed a grant of £75,000 to bring these plans for up to a dozen new housing units to the table, providing resources for consultation, business planning, legal work, surveys and outline plans. This investment is part of work at Power to Change to help local communities improve the quantity and quality of housing across England.
The housing would be owned by the local charity and rented out as affordable housing. If the initial scheme is successful the Charity has ambitions to provide more housing locally.
Work on the proposals has already started, and the aim is to have plans at panel first half of 2018.
