Citylife plans to build a 33-storey tower containing 306 apartments on the site of a former flax mill in Holbeck which closed in 1982. The £72.5m development is known as Sky Gardens.

McLaren Living is working on an adjacent site, which was also previously home to an industrial mill, to deliver the £90m Water Lane development. It promises to deliver a 25-floor tower containing 375 rented apartments.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority, run by Mayor Tracy Brabin, is planning to provide financial support for the schemes, offering £2.8m for Sky Gardens and £4.6m for Water Lane.

An artist's impression of Sky Gardens, which will be built on the site of Midland Mills in Leeds

The organisation said these projects will “help deliver” Ms Brabin’s pledge – made during the mayoral election in 2021 – to ensure 5,000 sustainable homes are built in West Yorkshire, and also increase land values, encourage further development and generate additional tax revenue.

According to WYCA, Sky Gardens needs support “to overcome the inability of the property financing market to fully fund development on this site”.

“The scheme will contribute to and complement the existing developments in the Holbeck area that are delivering to the local plan, celebrating its industrial heritage, and creating a new city centre community,” a report stated.

“It will sustain investor confidence for future developments including at the adjacent Water Lane development. Making the site economically active again will increase land values in the area and encourage further development.

“The scheme addresses the undersupply of homes for sale in Leeds.”

WYCA also said McLaren Living will receive £4.6m from a fund which supports the development of brownfield sites.

“The strategic case for investment is clear and aligned to the combined authority’s strategic aims of providing high quality sustainable housing where it is needed in the city centre, close to jobs, education, retail, leisure and other facilities,” the report stated.

“A mill previously on the site was levelled ten years ago, so the main strategic driver is to let the site make an economic contribution through redevelopment.”

Citylife has promised to provide Leeds City Council with £1.6m that can be spent on affordable homes in the city, but will not build any as part of the Sky Gardens development.

McLaren Living has promised to build 19 affordable three bedroom apartments on the Water Lane site.

Developers building hundreds of homes in Leeds ask for £7m of taxpayer support