A winding residential street with sweeping views over the city centre has bagged itself the title as Leeds' most sought after place to live.
Almost 2,500 applications were made for just five council houses on Ullswater Crescent in Halton Moor between January and March this year. One property was so popular that it had 934 applications alone.
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Matthew Booth, 26, recently moved back in with his parents, who have lived on the street for a number of years.
"They got it years and years ago," he said. "They're happy here.
"There's lots of togetherness around here. A lot of families stick together and I've got a lot of friends here too."
The sheer size of the large four-bedroom home that Matthew's parents live in is a major factor why so many people want to move to the area.
Meanwhile, another woman who moved onto Ullswater Crescent in December cited the big gardens as the main reason why she was attracted to the street.
"I moved from East End Park out of a back-to-back into a better house here," she said.
"I've got a garden for my grandson to play in.
"Where I am it's friendly. People all say hello to each other."
One of the Ullswater Crescent stalwarts is 54-year-old John Endersby, who has lived in the same council house on the street for the past 22 years.
"The homes are ideal for families," he said.
"They're spacious and the gardens are not too bad. It's ideal if you can get the houses with the drives.
"It's not a bad area, it really isn't. You get your kids messing about, but we don't get bothered."
Part of the appeal of living on Ullswater Crescent is the abundance of bus services to every corner of the city.
"The buses are great around here," said John.
"There's a bus straight into town and you can get to the other side of Leeds from here just catching the one bus."
But due to health issues, John and his partner are leaving their council house and moving into a bungalow in Kippax, which will bring an end to more than two decades on the same street where they have made good friends.
"I'll miss the neighbours," he said.
"The next-door neighbour is brilliant, over the road they're great aswell."
Part of the reason for the incredibly long waiting lists for houses on Ullswater Crescent is the reluctance of people to move away from the area.
One woman told LeedsLive: "I've lived in Halton Moor all my life.
"This is my home and it's where I'm from. I know loads of lovely people around here."
Ullswater Crescent and the surrounding streets have been at the centre of some ugly scenes in recent years though.
A police van was set on fire on the road in September 2019, which led to roughly 100 youngsters launching missiles at police officers during a terrifying riot in Halton Moor.
Fourteen injunctions were dished out to youngsters who were involved, while "lawless" behaviour was seen again in November 2020.
However, a mum who has lived on the estate all her life, and recently moved onto Ullswater Crescent, says "it's not like that at all".
She said: "People say a lot of bad things about this estate, but it's not always what you see.
"The people on here [Ullswater Crescenet] are actually lovely and we all stick together. We need each other.
"Don't judge a book by its cover, because it's really nice."
Another major reason why so many people want to move to Ullswater Crescent is the abundance of nearby schools.
Temple Learning Academy, Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School and Meadowfield Primary School are all rated good by Ofsted.
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Joan, who has lived on the adjoining Kendal Drive for 32 years, works at Temple Learning Academy.
"The houses keep filling up easily and we're getting loads of new children at the school," she said.
"We had a parent's review recently saying the teachers are good for the kids, helping them out in the pandemic."
However, one thing that many people raise concerns about is the lack of playgrounds and activities to keep children entertained.
Joan said: "There's nothing for the children to play on.
"There are plenty of green spaces everywhere but nothing for the children. No parks or anything like that.
"When kids have nothing else to do, they'll get bored and they do silly things."
John said: "They have nothing to do around here. The only thing for the kids is a football field.
"There's no youth club for them, there's no swimming pool. There's nothing for the kids. That's the only problem."
Despite its popularity, the absurd statistic that 2,473 people have applied for just five houses on Ullswater Crescent is a stark reminder of the housing crisis that affects so many across the city.
Data published by Leeds City Council shows the number of council houses in the city has reduced by nearly 5,000 in the past 15 years – from 59,426 in 2006/07, to 54,433 in 2020/21.
The figures follow warnings made to Leeds city councillors last December that 23,000 people were sat on the council’s housing waiting list.
A council meeting the following month was told the authority planned to build 300 new council homes a year in a bid to replenish stock, but Labour councillor David Jenkins had said the authority should cancel its ‘Right to Buy’ sales.
The ‘Right to Buy’ scheme, which was introduced by the Thatcher government in the 1980s, allows those living in council homes to purchase them from the local authority at a knockdown price.
Responding to the latest figures this week, Cllr Jenkins, a council deputy executive member who represents Killingbeck and Seacroft, said: “We are losing 300 houses a year, after building our own 300 houses, to Right to Buy. Like in Wales, Right to Buy should be abolished.
“Particularly because the council houses that are built are built using taxpayers’ money. It takes away the possibility of any of these people getting a property for more than two-to-three years.
“There are so many people in desperate need, living in overcrowded situations, and it is really really hard. We are doing what we can – the government refused to allow us to build council houses until 2018.
“(Abolishing right to buy) would be a government decision and would have to be done nationally. I would say the government is not going to do it because they want to encourage home ownership.
“That is very unfair on people who are never going to be able to afford their own homes and wil be reliant on housing associations and the private sector.”
He added that of the 778 enquiries he has had from constituents since the beginning of January, around one fifth were housing-related.
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: "Currently approximately 26,000 applicants are on the Leeds Homes Register, around 6,000 of these have a level of assessed housing need. There are 54,000 council properties within Leeds and the turnover of properties is at an all-time low, with just under 2,600 becoming available year after year.
"The overall stock continues to diminish as a consequence of Right To Buy with an average of 600 properties being sold every year.
"We recognise the urgent need for new housing and we are continuing to build new council properties as well as working with partners to meet the housing needs of the city."
