Leeds Federated Housing purchase our estate

Leeds Federated Housing is a local housing association with 4,300 properties in Leeds, Wakefield and North Yorkshire. On 29 September 2022, they took ownership of the estate from Pemberstone!

We’ve heard for some time that Pemberstone was making a deal with a housing association that could only be completed when all short hold tenants had been evicted. Little information about the deal or the apparent purchasers was shared, so we had no idea whether it was true. All we knew was that – paradoxically – tenants had to leave the estate for anything to happen… bad or good.

Turns out there was a real housing association behind the scenes, and a deal was finally agreed! (Who knows how much Pemberstone made from the sale…!)

Leeds Federated Housing have issued the following press release to announce the purchase:

This is fantastic news for the 10 mineworker families with protected tenancies who have seen their neighbours disperse and the boarded-up houses crumble around them. Leeds Fed have committed to building their new homes first and to try and ensure they won’t have to move off the estate while the new homes are constructed.

Quite what this means for tenant families already forced out of their beloved homes, we don’t know as we have yet to get full details. But Leeds Fed are working with Cindy and John Readman to make sure our voices and needs are not overlooked!

Cross your fingers.

Although our historic homes will sadly still face demolition, there is now a spark of a hope that evicted families might at least be able to move back to a cherished estate with close friends and lots of memories.