Beckhill (or Beck Hill) is a small council estate in the

Meanwood Meanwood is a suburb and former village in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits in the Moortown ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Origins and history The name Meanwood goes back t ...

area of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England, which has received negative local publicity in the past, but is now the subject of

urban regeneration Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

. The area is situated south of Stainbeck Road and north of Potternewton Lane. To the East is the

Miles Hill Miles Hill is a district in Leeds. It is about north of Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England and is situated between Meanwood and Chapel Allerton Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, fro ...

Estate. Beckhill falls within the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council.

Location

The area was built in the 1970s and consists mainly of brick built terrace houses. The estate had a small

newsagents A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand (American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...

on Beckhill Approach which was demolished in 2014 . There is only one entrance to the estate via car, from Stainbeck Road, however there are

ginnel A ginnel is a fenced or walled alley between residential buildings that provides a pedestrian shortcut to nearby streets.primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

was on Beckhill Approach, and had 170 pupils. The 2004 and 2007 league tables showed a challenging situation. The school was closed in 2007, and demolished in 2008. At the same time the estate children's play area in the former school grounds was closed due to maintenance costs. Beckhill is part of the intake area for St Urban's Catholic primary school. Miles Hill primary was recently replaced by the new Mill Field primary school on

Potternewton Potternewton (until recently also Potter Newton) is a suburb and parish between Chapeltown and Chapel Allerton in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is in the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council. Potternewton is bounded by ...

Mount, which led to concerns over the road crossing in Potternewton Lane, as pupils now had to walk from their estates to the new school. However, this appears to be resolved by the addition of new zebra crossings.

History

Past

In 2004 there was a problem with gang behaviour in this and other estates, and in 2006 it was reported that children were committing burglaries. There used to be a public house called the Hilltop in Beckhill Grove but it was demolished in 2007, making space for a planned local

regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

development by East North East Homes Leeds. In July 2007 authorisation was given to demolish a large number of properties on Beckhill Approach and Beckhill Garth, to make way for new family housing. Beckhill became the focus of negative press attention in December 2008, following the 'Beckhill Stabbing'. As of 2014,

knife crime Knife legislation is defined as the legislation, body of statutory law or case law promulgated or enacted by a government or other governing jurisdiction that prohibits, criminalizes, or restricts the otherwise legal manufacture, importation, sale, ...

continued to be a problem on the estate.

Present and future

Since 2007, the Beckhill Implementation Group (BIG) received funding from the NHS for activities to promote health and wellbeing on the estate. BIG won an Effective Partnership Working Award on 18 March 2009. Groundwork Leeds is still involved in improvement of this environment. In 2007 the average value of a house on Beckhill Chase was approximately half that of the average house in Leeds, and at least one of those houses was built in 196
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In Beckhill Grove there are 39 homes, built about the same tim
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There is an active Beckhill Tenants and Residents' Association. £10,000 funding was agreed by

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...

(North East Inner

Area Committee Many large local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees or area boards, which involve local people and organisations in decisions affecting council spending within their area. They cover a geographical area suc ...

) in 2008 for a study into the feasibility of providing a new

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

for Beckhill. The Three Churches Project focuses on this and other nearby estates. In 2008 the group completed a four-month project with people from estates including Beckhill, and performed a play based on

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

The Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tentative steps in laying ...

''. New

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

is planned for the estate, as a second phase of Leeds City Council's intention to build 80 properties across three sites in Leeds. Houses on the estate around Beckhill Approach were demolished in 2012 and the estate's newsagent was demolished in 2014.

Location

History

Past

Present and future

References

External links