54North Homes welcomes MP for Horsforth site visit

We were delighted to welcome new MP Katie White for a tour of a forest school in Leeds.

Our Director of Assets and Growth Joanna Chambers detailed for Katie, the new MP for Leeds North West, the creation of the Featherbank Forest School in Horsforth.

Joanna led on the community project as part of the development of over-55s scheme Rosemary Thompson House.

She told Katie how woodland off Featherbank Lane was transformed with support from The Conservation Volunteers charity, with children from Featherbank Primary school coming up with the name.

Joanna (pictured below right with Katie White MP) said: “We were delighted to welcome Katie to the forest school, which brought an overgrown and neglected patch of woodland back into use.

“What we do isn’t just about bricks and mortar, it’s about supporting lives and building sustainable communities where people want to live.”

Joanna welcomed an extra £500m for affordable housing and the Government’s intention to reform the national planning framework.

She said: “We were waiting with bated breath for the budget to see what was next – now we’ve got clarity, at least for an additional year, we can take things forward with our partners.”

Joanna also shared with our future plans now that the new Government has announced its budget.

Based in Leeds and York and part of the Karbon Homes Group, 54North Homes will deliver about 200 new affordable homes over the next few years.

Katie White MP said: “It was fantastic to visit the Featherbank Forest School in Horsforth.

“Nature, climate and mental health are all priorities for me, so it's brilliant to see how by restoring woodland we can provide a supportive, healthy learning environment for children and young people, as well as improving our wild spaces.”

Rosemary Thompson House (pictured below), which opened in 2018, is a popular over-55s scheme which faced some initial planning delays.

The site was left in the will of lifelong Horsforth resident Rosemary Thompson to provide housing for older people.

Neighbouring woodland was turned into a community garden and adopted by the Featherbank Primary School as an outdoor classroom.

It features an all-weather outdoor classroom made of logs, and also boasts a fire pit, structures to make dens, a seesaw and climbing frame.

Since the forest school opened, it has been used by every year group, benefitting hundreds of children.

Art, science, phonics, RE, maths and geography lessons have all been taught there.

Joanna added: “It’s made a huge difference as the primary school doesn’t have any green space and they’re adjacent to a busy road.

“But thanks to the forest school, children can learn and play outdoors in a safe place that’s away from traffic.”