UKREiiF | Caddick, Homes England tie up deal to kickstart £1bn South Village

The Yorkshire property giant has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government’s housing and regeneration agency to accelerate the delivery of the 1,900-home Leeds masterplan.

Located just off Meadow Road, the Caddick Group development was long billed as City One before being rebranded upon receiving planning consent in March.

With SimpsonHaugh is engaged as architect, it is intended to be a focal point for the wider South Bank regeneration area. The agreement with Homes England is a step towards infrastructure works starting on site before the end of the year, allowing the first plots to emerge in 2025, Caddick said. Signing the agreement at UKREiiF was a full-circle moment, as it had sparked from a conversation held at the previous year’s conference.

Lee Savage, director at Caddick Developments said: “This agreement with Homes England will be instrumental in accelerating our work on this project, allowing us to begin delivering much-needed city centre housing at pace, while also introducing significant public realm for all to enjoy.

“The ambition is that South Village will effectively redefine contemporary urban living in Leeds, located in the heart of the city centre, but offering all of the amenity of traditional village life.”

Peter Denton, chief executive of Homes England, said: “South Village has a significant role to play in the ongoing transformation of Leeds and the South Bank. West Yorkshire and Leeds have a clear vision for the city’s future, and we are pleased to be working with Caddick and other local partners to bring that one step closer to reality.”

South Village is a 10-acre site that, along with 1,925 homes, will see new pedestrian connections and green corridors, with more than half of the site allocated for landscaped spaces.

Caddick’s 2m sq ft neighbourhood has been renamed from City One to South Village. Credit: via Social

Focused around a contemporary village green the size of a professional sports field, the project will also offer up to 450 hotel beds and 700,000 sq ft of commercial space, specifically targeting businesses looking for highly sustainable new facilities.

The project will also feature a travel hub, maximising connectivity with West Yorkshire’s proposed mass transit system and its planned Leeds line.

At UKREiiF, Savage spoke with Place North about the scheme. He described South Village as “a game-changer, adding “I think this area has a fantastic opportunity to be the heart of Southbank with a village square at the centre.”

Reflecting on the project, Leeds City Council Leader Cllr James Lewis said: “Developments like South Village are a great example of the wider South Bank’s potential, and illustrate why we have worked so hard to encourage regeneration activity there.

“South Village’s mix of homes, hotel accommodation, commercial opportunities and green space will complement the many other transformative projects that have already helped make the South Bank a really exciting place to live, work, visit and spend time.

“It’s particularly pleasing that this scheme has scope for providing nearly 2,000 new homes and will therefore align with our own efforts to deliver good-quality housing on repurposed brownfield land in communities across the city.”

Kerrie Buckley, associate partner at SimpsonHaugh Architects said: “We are thrilled to hear Caddick Group have secured an agreement with Homes England to help bring forward development at South Village in Leeds.

“Placemaking is at the heart of our vision for this residential-led, mixed-use masterplan and we are excited to see the emergence of a distinctive new neighbourhood at the southern gateway into Leeds city centre.”