A completely derelict Victorian villa in Harehills has been turned into new homes for Leeds homeless, thanks to charity Latch (Leeds Action to Create Houses).
A £375,000 investment has seen the creation of four new, modern flats inside the sprawling, dilapidated house, now comprised of three one-beds and one two-bed flat.
These will now become homes for some of the city's most vulnerable residents, who will be supported by the charity to turn their lives around as they take steps towards more independent living.
Made possible thanks to support from Leeds City Council, Power to Change, and the Clothworkers Foundation. the renovation took around a year to complete.
A complete wreck at the start of the project, the team had to completely remodel and transform the house.
There was no heating or hot water, the roof was leaking and the windows were broken - but it has now been rewired, re-painted, plastered, theremall insulated and sound proofed by the Latch team.
"All the windows and doors have been replaced and new kitchens and bathrooms have been installed," explains James Hartley, CEO of Latch.
"The property has also been fully furnished to provide the new tenants with everything they need to make a fresh new start."
The charity is now busy assessing applications for the new homes.
There is an enormous demand for properties in Leeds from those who are homeless or in urgent housing need, with over 5,500 people currently homeless or living in poor quality housing.
It is estimated that there is a further 3,500 derelict, privately-owned and empty properties in the city ripe for projects like this.
Projects such as this play a vital role in tackling growing homelessness in the city.
Latch hopes to raise a further £350,000 this summer towards the costs of purchasing another six properties over the coming months and years, with funding also being sought from other grants and businesses.
Leeds
Here’s how you can get FREE Tony’s Chocolonely and Yorkshire Tea in Leeds next week
In honour of National Chocolate Week, two big brands are joining forces.
Fancy a freebie? Silly question, of course you do.
Tony’s Chocolonely and Yorkshire Tea have joined forces for National Chocolate Week to ask Brits to declare themselves a ‘Melt’...yes, really.
It comes after the brands discovering a new Gen Z dunking trend, with research finding that 80% of 18–24-year-olds say chocolate is their preferred tea-dunking treat.
To understand why the perculiar pairing has become so popular, the brands recruited Associate Professor of Psychobiology, Dr Lorenzo Stafford, to investigate what happens when tea and chocolate come together.
Associate Professor, Dr Lorenzo Stafford said: "It's fascinating to see how much thought Brits put into what makes a great dunk. Flavour, texture and temperature all shape how we experience food, and the combination of hot tea with melting chocolate creates a particularly enjoyable sensory experience.
"When it comes to dunking, tea and chocolate have great chemistry so it’s no surprise young people have embraced it."
If you want to try it out for yourself, then you can for free - but there is one catch.
From Monday 19 to Friday 23 October, anyone who walks into one of Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds and says ‘I'm a Melt’ will get a free mug of Yorkshire Tea and bar of Tony's Chocolonely.
Not only that, but the first 100 customers will also get a limited-edition ‘Melt’ cap.
Yorkshire Tea & Tony’s Chocolonely said of the partnership, “Brits love their tea and their chocolate and now the science shows why. This National Chocolate Week, we’re inviting everyone to give it a go, embrace their inner Melt and discover just how well chunky chocolate and a proper brew can work together.”
Leeds Bradford Airport strikes will NOT go ahead following ‘late offer’ over pay
Clementine Hall
This weekend's strikes at Leeds Bradford Airport have been cancelled.
Around 130 workers were set to walk out this weekend, Unite said, but this has been suspended to allow air traffic controllers to consider a new pay offer.
The Unite members planning on to go on strike were a mixture of air traffic control workers, customer experience staff, security staff and cleaners.
The workers involved in the dispute had recently come out of a four-year pay deal, with some of the departments having fallen behind other airports in equivalent roles.
Pay talks have been happening since December 2025, with the airport's formal offer not going far enough to address the lack of pay parity which led to the decision to strike.
However, as of yesterday 15 October, the workers have been given new pay offers from the airport and the strikes will not take place to allow a ballot on the offers.
Air traffic controllers and hourly paid staff are being balloted separately on their respective offers.
Unite regional officer Neil Whitaker said: "After receiving offers from Leeds Bradford Airport, we have suspended this week’s strike action in good faith to allow members to vote on pay deals.”
In a statement, Leeds Bradford Airport said: "While the ballot process continues with certain members of our frontline colleagues, we remain hopeful that a positive outcome can be achieved and that an agreement can be reached which works for everyone involved.
"Regardless of the outcome of this ballot, LBA has a robust contingency plan in place and will be operating as normal this weekend.
"Our focus remains on supporting a smooth and reliable experience for customers while maintaining safe and efficient airport operations."
Georgina Pellant -
24th May 2021 
