‘Going home’ – Save Our Homes LS26 residents move into new houses

Seven and a half years after the Save Our Homes LS26 campaign began, and three years since we lost our fight against Pemberstone’s redevelopment, ex-residents of Wordsworth Drive and Sugar Hill Close have finally begun moving back and resettling into the cherished estate.

It looks a little different now. The new houses are shiny and modern-looking, with red brick wrapped around the ground floors, panel-clad first floors, large feature windows, and accentuated doorways. They’re built to high energy efficiency standards with solar panels, car chargers, and a level of insulation that will feel alien to anyone used to living in a draughty Airey prefab.

It’s not just the houses that have changed. Wordsworth Drive and Sugar Hill Close are joined by four new streets: Airey Mews, Colliers Walk, Newmarket Chase, and Water Haigh End… all nods towards the estate’s coal mining and prefab housing past.

As you’ll remember from previous updates, these new homes have been built by non-profit Leeds Federated Housing Association, who’ll now manage them as ‘affordable’ social rents. Leeds Fed’s purchase of the estate from Pemberstone in 2022 was due in no small part to our high-profile campaign to prevent eviction. And since taking over, Leeds Fed have worked harder than your typical house builder to keep residents notified of development progress: communicating directly with the ex-miner tenants who hold regulated tenancies, engaging with the ex-shorthold tenants through Save Our Homes LS26 Chair Cindy Readman, hosting a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of development, and even launching a microsite to cover every twist and turn of the construction and rehousing process.

This just goes to show what community mobilisation and campaign pressure can achieve! It might not have saved the community from eviction and our Airey homes from demolition, but small wins matter. Being able to return is a BIG DEAL.

Rebuilding a community

Retired miner residents, like Mavis and Barry Abbey, moved in first, shortly before Christmas. These ten households had pre-1988 regulated tenancy agreements with stronger rights, so they were able to stay in their Airey homes while the rest of the estate was demolished and rebuilt around them. Some couldn’t wait to jump ship and get settled in the modern new housing stock. For others, the transition has been a mixed experience.

The last few years living on a building site have certainly been difficult, with workmen, fly-tippers and occasional thieves lurking about. More than once residents have been hemmed in by construction vehicles or dug up roads. Watching this historic prefab estate – beloved by generations of coal board families – being demolished bit-by-bit has also been emotionally hard.

Mavis has visually documented the redevelopment over three long years:

Mavis called it ‘the beginning of the end of an era’, as she saw her own home being knocked down by bulldozers in January.

She and Barry have lived on the estate for fifty-five years, and in this most recent Airey home since 1990. The Abbeys are trying hard to resettle in their shiny new house, but the move has come with all the usual challenges: redirecting mail (to addresses that don’t yet officially exist!), re-establishing utilities and internet connections, unpacking and working out how to fit everything into a smaller space.

The first ex-assured shorthold tenants finally began moving onto the estate this month, too. Save Our Homes LS26 Chair Cindy Readman was one of those movers and reflected on the ups and downs of the last few years when she and John picked up their keys last week:

We fought a hard campaign eventually working with Leeds City Council to secure a Housing Association buying the land. Unfortunately we had to move away for 3 years and have watched our family home demolished and the new houses being built. Today we were given the keys to our brand new home and will be moving in on Friday.

It’s been a long hard battle and we’ve made life long friends along the way. Some of our community will be returning too and we will rebuild our lovely community.

It’s just so lovely to know on Friday we will he going home.

Cindy has done such an amazing job liaising with Leeds Fed and Leeds City Council about the development and keeping ex-shorthold tenants informed of progress despite everyone being evicted and dispersed far and wide. She and Mavis have kept the generations of residents engaged and informed about this new chapter for Wordsworth Drive and Sugar Hill Close – thank you!

All the best to the Abbeys, Readmans and everyone else currently settling in as you all unpack and reconnect with special neighbours. Those not able to move back will no doubt pop round for a cuppa (and a guided tour) soon!

More photos and updates to follow. Watch this space!