A disused block of flats that has stood empty for over seven years is to be demolished to make way for new affordable housing.
The Leys building, in Beaumont Leys, was bought by Leicester City Council in 2019 with the intention of refurbishing it to bring back into use.
The building is currently in a state of disrepair and with the opportunity to acquire adjoining privately-owned land at John Calvert Court, the council is now planning to demolish the building and develop a new council housing scheme. The proposed scheme would deliver up to 52 new affordable homes and include a toddler playground for use by the wider community.
The city council originally purchased The Leys building for £1.2 milllion. The anticipated costs of the proposed new affordable housing scheme – including demolition costs of about £800,000 – is £15.5 million. This would be funded using receipts from the sale of council properties under the Government’s Right to Buy scheme.
Deputy city mayor Cllr Elly Cutkelvin, who leads on housing, said: “Leicester continues to face a housing crisis and it is essential we do everything we can to address the growing demand for high-quality affordable housing in the city.
“By acquiring more land and preparing this site for new homes, we can increase our stock of council housing and build high quality, affordable homes that meet the needs of local people as well as providing a boost to the local area.
“There is no doubt that the Right to Buy scheme has hit the supply of council housing hard. It is essential that we invest whatever proceeds we can back into ambitious schemes like this that will help address the urgent need for more affordable homes in our city.”
If given the go-ahead, demolition of The Leys is expected to take place in 2025.
A competitive tendering process will then get underway to find a development partner to design and build the new affordable homes, subject to planning permission.
