Domis Construction and Cole Waterhouse have marked the first major milestone at Leeds Urban Village, as project stakeholders came together to celebrate an “Out of the Ground” ceremony on site.
Held on 19 May 2026, the ceremony brought together the wider project team behind the landmark residential-led masterplan, including Domis Construction, Cole Waterhouse, DLG Architects, Matic Building Services, Wright Landscapes, Casana Interiors, NOVO and other key project partners.
Although traditionally described as a ground-breaking ceremony, Leeds Urban Village is already visibly progressing above ground, with slipform cores well underway and the first blocks advancing at pace.
Leeds Urban Village represents a major milestone for Domis Construction as the business delivers its first project in Leeds and its largest project to date by total number of homes. The full masterplan will deliver 1,012 new homes across five blocks, transforming brownfield land east of Marsh Lane into a new residential community.
The development is also Domis’ first equity joint venture with Cole Waterhouse, strengthening a partnership focused on delivering high-quality, residential-led regeneration in one of the UK’s major growth cities.
The current phase focuses on Blocks 3 and 4, which will deliver 478 homes as a significant part of the wider Leeds Urban Village masterplan.
The scheme will also feature up to 18,000 sq ft of ground-floor commercial and residential amenity space, helping to activate street level with cafés, retail, co-working and lifestyle uses.
Once complete, Leeds Urban Village is expected to create circa 600 jobs during construction and up to 313 additional jobs once built, supporting long-term employment, investment and regeneration across the city.
Significant progress has already been made on site. Around 265 linear metres of culvert diversion has been completed, piling is complete to Blocks 3 and 4, with 597 piles installed, and sub-structure works to Block 3 are now complete. Upper floors are beginning to progress, while slipform cores continue to rise, with Core 1 reaching Level 11 and Core 2 reaching Level 13.
Leeds Urban Village arrives at a time of continued growth for the city. Leeds has a £36 billion economy, a population of more than 812,000 people, and almost 6,000 homes currently under construction. With an ambition to create 100,000 new jobs over the next decade, the city continues to reinforce its position as one of the UK’s most important growth locations.
As one line from the ceremony captured: “Leeds is not a city waiting for growth, it is a city already delivering it.”
The scheme will support the continued regeneration of Leeds by creating new homes, new public-facing spaces and a new community on a long-underused brownfield site. It reflects confidence in the future of Leeds and the wider West Yorkshire region, while marking an important step for Domis as the business expands into a new city.
Kingsley Thornton, Managing Director of the Domis Group, said:
“We want to express how excited we are to be here in Leeds, putting a foothold in the city and demonstrating what Domis and our supply chain partners are capable of.
That is already reflected in the progress behind us. We may not be breaking ground in the traditional sense, but we build quickly and efficiently, as shown by the two cores already rising on site.
We’re desperate to show Leeds what we’re all about. It is a city we’re excited to be part of, and the opportunity here is endless. With so many families and young professionals coming into the city, we’re proud to play a role in that growth.
Block 3 is the first step in a project that will deliver more than 1,000 homes for Leeds, and we’re proud to be well underway with that task.”
With the project now out of the ground and progressing at pace, Leeds Urban Village has reached its first major milestone on the journey to delivering one of the city’s most significant new residential neighbourhoods.
