West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s ambitious investment pipeline took centre stage at UKREiiF 2025, with a clear message that the region’s long-term regeneration and infrastructure plans must include the delivery of genuinely affordable housing.
Held at Leeds’ Royal Armouries, the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) showcased major projects backed by a proposed £7 billion Local Growth Plan, covering transport, commercial, and residential development across the region.
For housing associations and affordable housing providers, the event highlighted emerging opportunities to partner on schemes that aim to combine economic growth with social impact.
New Infrastructure to Unlock Homes and Land
Speaking at the forum, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin underscored how devolved powers are enabling the region to steer investment towards inclusive growth. She singled out the planned West Yorkshire tram network as central to unlocking housing potential by improving access to underused or brownfield land.
“Devolution is empowering West Yorkshire to forge its own future,” said Brabin. “Working closely with the private sector, we’re meeting them halfway with record investment in public transport and backing from the Prime Minister and Chancellor for a tram network.”
The new network is seen as essential not only to regional connectivity and job creation, but also to the delivery of new homes—particularly in growth corridor locations that remain poorly served by public transport.
Development-Ready Land—But What Kind of Housing?
Across the region’s three designated “Growth Corridors”—Western, Southern and Eastern—more than 40 sites have been identified for development, with targets including 33,000 jobs and £26 billion in economic uplift over the next decade.
However, with housing affordability a growing concern in urban and rural areas alike, sector voices at UKREiiF raised the need for clarity on how much of the new housing will meet social and affordable needs.
The region’s infrastructure ambitions are significant:
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A £2 billion Innovation Arc in Leeds with 3.5 million sq ft of mixed-use development, including new homes.
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The Innovation Village and new hospital from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, bringing 1.5 million sq ft of development and 4,000 jobs.
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Lord Blunkett’s £14 billion Plan for Rail, designed to unlock sites for 210,000 new homes by addressing long-standing network constraints.
These projects present major opportunities for housing associations, councils and community-led organisations to push for tenure diversity, social value and local benefit.
Private Sector Partnerships and Policy Alignment Needed
While the forum highlighted regional appetite for collaboration with private developers, the affordable housing sector stressed that public-private partnerships must be structured to secure long-term affordability. The sector also called for robust alignment between infrastructure investment and local housing strategies, especially as land values rise around new transport corridors.
With early engagement on the tram network and other large-scale projects now underway, housing organisations are being encouraged to work closely with local authorities and infrastructure planners to shape proposals from the outset.
As West Yorkshire builds out its growth corridors, affordable housing providers will be watching closely to ensure regeneration does not price out those most in need of secure, decent homes. The challenge now is to ensure that inclusive housing remains at the heart of the region’s economic future—not just alongside it.
