A new masterplan outlines where new housing should be built in Aireborough – a semi-rural area comprising Guiseley, Yeadon and Rawdon.

The site allocations plan (SAP) for Leeds provides extensive detail of new housing sites over the coming decade. After a year of disagreements, which culminated in an inquiry into the plans, Leeds City Council this month rubber-stamped the document.

The SAP is split into 10 “housing characteristic areas”, each with their own proposed sites earmarked for housing and employment development. This article will focus on plans for Aireborough – a semi-rural area of  north west Leeds comprising Guiseley, Yeadon and Rawdon.

The document also lists green spaces which should be protected from development.

It is expected that developers will use the SAP as a guide on what they can build in Leeds and whereabouts, while the council claims it will give the city  extra protection from “bad developments”.

Sites allocated in the new SAP:

  • New Birks Farm, Ings Grove, Guiseley (10.84 hectares) – 160 units
  • Wills Gill, Guiseley (5.06 hectares) – 133 units
  • Hollins Hill and Hawkstone Avenue, Guiseley (3.04 hectares) – 80 units
  • Land at Silverdale Avenue, Guiseley (1.98 hectares) – 32 units
  • Former Brookfield Nursing Home, Swaine Hill Terrace, Yeadon (0.42 hectares) – seven units
  • Kirkland House, Queensway, Yeadon (0.47 hectares) – 17 units
  • Land at Victoria Avenue (3.9 hectares) – 102 units
  • Land off Larkfield Drive, Rawdon (0.45 hectares) – six units
  • The Old Mill, Miry Lane, Yeadon (0.43 hectares) – 15 units

This leaves a total of nine new proposed sites with 552 homes.

Of these, the sites at Wills Gill, Silverdale Avenue, Swaine Hill Terrace, Larkfield Drive and Miry Lane were all considered suitable for older people’s housing.

The SAP also considered a 0.11-hectare site off Town Street, Yeadon to be suitable for travelling showpeople.

The plan also came up with a site for potential employment in the area – 36.23 hectares of land at Carlton Moor / Leeds Bradford Airport.

A total of 83 sites were designated as green space in the area.