Council said 8,500 new homes could be built in the city centre if its bid succeeds

Citu Climate Innovations district

Leeds city council has put in a bid for £60m of funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) with a view to building nearly 9,000 new homes in the city centre.

The council said the centre of Leeds had the capacity for up to 20,000 homes to be built in the coming decades, with 8,500 deliverable by 2033 if an HIF bid proved successful.

Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds city council said: “The Housing Infrastructure Fund bid forms part of our ambitious, city-wide investment plans for new housing.

“But we can only build more city-centre homes if we improve connectivity and stitch the new homes into the fabric of our city, allowing them to come forward for delivery.”

Blake said the council hoped the funding would lead to the development of more schemes using modern infrastructure aimed at sustainable living.

Leeds highlighted Citu’s £125m Climate Innovations District (pictured) in Hunslet, which is partly completed.

The council said that when it was finished in 2023 it would be the UK’s largest urban sustainable development and include 515 low-carbon family homes, offices, leisure facilities and a pioneering home-building factory.

Phase one of the CID development contains 16 affordable homes in partnership with Leeds Community Homes, a community land trust.

Across the city at least 60 more mixed-tenure and sustainable housing schemes have been granted planning, including Moda’s 515-apartment SOYO scheme at Quarry Hill and CEG’s development of 700 new homes at Globe Road and Water Lane in Holbeck.