West Yorkshire mass transit could add tens of thousands of homes to Leeds, report finds

Mayor Tracy Brabin has staked her reputation on bringing trams back to the streets of Leeds and Bradford as part of a £2.5bn project.

She has pledged to get spades in the ground by 2028 and have trams running towards the end of the 2030s, with routes from Leeds station down to Elland Road and west to Bradford.

This could unlock around 30,000 homes, according to a new report from the Centre for Cities, due to the new “default yes” approach to building homes around stations.

Last month, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner published the new National Planning Policy Framework which gave “a default ‘yes’ [on planning permission] for homes within reasonable walking distance of well-connected stations”.

The Centre for Cities says this is important as currently the UK has much lower density around stations than its G7 peers, such as France and Japan.

And in certain places, like Sheffield, there are actually fewer houses around stations than elsewhere in the city.

Leeds is “severely constrained” due to being the largest city in western Europe with no mass transit network.

Therefore Ms Brabin’s tram plans could see tens of thousands of homes built near new stations in places like Elland Road and Armley.

The mayor said: “We have huge ambitions for Leeds and West Yorkshire, from over 20,000 new homes at Leeds South Bank to our landmark new Weaver Network, which will deliver seamless journeys across the region

“But to fully unleash the potential of our people and places, we need to make the most of devolution – joining up our ambitious plans for housing and skills with the transport links our communities and businesses are crying out for.

“This research is a major vote of confidence in our West Yorkshire way – growing the economy by bringing together affordable housing with the skills training and transport infrastructure we need to build a stronger, better-connected region that works for all.”

To assist building the new homes, the Centre for Cities is calling for the Government to allow land to be fast-tracked from Network Rail to mayors, who are financially incentivised to develop the sites.

It wants combined authorities to create mayoral development corporations, in the style of Tees Valley, to push through regenerations around stations.

This comes after Andy Burnham announced that mayors will be able to call in major planning decisions and overrule local councils.

Anthony Breach, director of policy and research at Centre for Cities, said: “All British cities would benefit from more homes around stations, but Leeds stands out for needing more stations to build around.

“Leeds is already building lots of new homes in and around the city centre as the local economy grows and should continue to do so.

“The challenge to get more homes built in other parts of the city will be building new transport links and new homes around them to make the most of – and help pay for – new infrastructure.

“To maximise housebuilding and connectivity in the city, the mayor of West Yorkshire should be granted control of land around existing and new stations and use new mayoral planning and development powers to their fullest extent.”