Preferred Homes (PHL), a registered provider of social housing, is delighted to announce that progress on its new £15 million housing scheme on Hunslet Hall Road, Beeston is on track for opening in October 2024.
Hunslet Moor House will comprise of 51 one-bedroom apartments and 12 two-bedroom apartments and is designed as a housing option for residents who are over 55 and can live independently but need some elements of personal care.
The new location in Beeston will include generous community space to support residents’ social activities, whilst providing opportunities for residents, their guests and visitors to meet and enjoy a community café. The scheme will be managed on a 24-hour basis with care available to residents as required.
Preferred Homes will also be investing in a new community shop for Lakha Newsagent and General Store – run by Zaab, who has served the surrounding community for many years.
This is a major investment for the Beeston area, supported by an Affordable Homes Programme grant from Homes England. The Affordable Homes Programme provides grant funding to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing for rent or sale. As the government’s housing accelerator, Homes England is making available £7.39 billion from April 2021 to deliver up to 130,000 affordable homes by March 2026 – outside of London.
The housing allocation for Hunslet Moor House will be managed in partnership with Leeds City Council and their commissioning team. People interested in finding out if they qualify to apply for the available apartments can register their interest by contacting Harrinder Rai, Housing Manager, (Pinnacle) via email Harrinder.Rai@pinnaclegroup.co.uk or phone: 0333 600 2500.
Leeds City Council with Preferred Homes will start to review potential applications from May 2024.
Extra care housing promotes independent living along with care support available on site, allowing for more effective and cost-efficient provision. The public purse savings for a typical PHL development is around £800,000 per annum, equivalent to £20 million over a local authority nominations period of 25 years.
Stephen Sorrell, Founder of Preferred Homes and Social Partnership Director notes:
“Social housing is increasingly under pressure across the country and we are excited to be able to bring our vision and approach to tackling this need in Leeds. Our development on Hunslet Hall Road will be the first Preferred Homes site to complete as we grow our pipeline of affordable rental homes across the country.
“These new homes provide a fantastic option for people in later life in the Beeston area. They offer sustainable and affordable Extra Care apartments with care available on-site. In addition, a number of local job opportunities will be available as the development nears completion.
“We are also delighted to be working in partnership with Leeds City Council to identify people for whom Extra Care Housing is the perfect option and be able to offer them a new home in a supported environment.
“We look forward to opening our show apartment for viewing in August 2024.”
Liz Conner, Leeds City Council’s Commissioning Manager, Adults and Health, said:
“As a council we are continuing to work very closely with partners through our Extra Care programme to support the introduction of specialist housing for older people aged over 55 in communities across the city. “We very much welcome therefore this new housing scheme in Beeston which when completed, will provide 63 new self-contained properties for older residents to live in and enjoy. “Anyone wishing to register an interest in one of the properties can do so now as the scheme is opening later this year.”
Preferred Homes will be planning a number of local community events to share information about Hunslet Moor House and the benefits it can offer for later living. More details will follow.
People can register their interest in the housing availability via Preferred Homes website: https://preferredhomes.co.uk/leeds-site/