The last resident has now moved out of the Beverleys as part of an £11m project to transform the area and build 55 new homes.

Almost 100 privately-owned properties were bought by Leeds City Council so that 132 poor quality buildings, including pre-1919 back-to-back houses, could be bulldozed to make way for new, affordable homes.

Early phases of demolition started in 2008 and the rest of the area will be cleared over the coming months.

Coun Les Carter, Leeds City Council's executive board member for housing, said: "This is an area plagued by poor housing and radical action was needed to improve the situation.

"We have been careful to make sure that everyone who has had to move out, whether a council tenant or a private owner, has been offered support to help them find a new home.
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"This is a major project for us and I'm pleased that work can now finally begin to transform the area, which we believe will bring many other positive changes to Beeston."

In 2005, the council's executive board approved proposals for the acquisition and demolition of properties in the Beverleys area – a high number of which were unfit or empty at the time, with many residents hoping to move out of the area.

The project is part of the ongoing regeneration of Beeston Hill and Holbeck, which suffers from poor or obsolete housing.

The run-down houses on the Beverleys will be replaced by 55 two, three and four-bedroom properties with private gardens, while the homes will also be built to modern standards of energy efficiency.

Chevin Housing Association intends to submit a planning application for the redevelopment shortly, with the plans available to view at the Dewsbury Road One Stop Centre on December 16 and 17.

Chevin Housing Association will also submit an application to the Homes and Communities Agency for grant funding for the development of new affordable homes for rent and shared ownership.

If planning approval and funding is secured, it is hoped that work on the new homes will start in the middle of next year.