West Park is a suburb of north-west

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, north of

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

. It is a mixed area of private suburban housing and suburban council estates. The name derives from its main park (approximately 500 metres north-south by 300 metres east-west) containing playing fields together with a conservation area of grassy meadow ending in woodland. The largest housing estate in West Park is Moor Grange. The majority of the area sits in the

Weetwood Weetwood is an area between Headingley and Meanwood in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded on the north by the A6120 road, A6120 (Outer Ring Road), on the west by the A660 road, A660 (Otley Road), on the east by Meanwood ...

ward of

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 ...

, except for the south west corner sitting in the neighbouring

Kirkstall Kirkstall is a north-western suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the eastern side of the River Aire. The area sits in the Kirkstall ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds West parliamentary constituency, represented by Rachel Reeves. T ...

ward.

Governance

The south west corner (with an eastern border of Spen Lane and the A6120

Leeds Outer Ring Road The Leeds Outer Ring Road is a main road that runs around most of the perimeter of the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The ring road is approximately long and consists of single and dual carriageways. The road is not a loop and so is ...

to the north) of West Park lies in the

ward and the rest of the suburb sits in the

ward. As a result, West Park is split between two

parliamentary constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

with the

Leeds North West Leeds North West is a constituency in the City of Leeds which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Alex Sobel, of Labour Co-op. Boundaries 1950–1955: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Far He ...

constituency including Weetwood ward (served by

Labour Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidat ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, Alex Sobel) and

Leeds West Leeds West is a borough constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of elect ...

constituency (represented by fellow Labour MP

Rachel Reeves Rachel Jane Reeves (born 13 February 1979) is a British politician and economist serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010. Born in Lewis ...

) covering Kirkstall ward. It has the postcode of LS16.

Geography

The West Park district is approximately four miles north west of

Leeds city centre Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is roughly bounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road to the north and the River Aire to the south and can be divided into several quarters. C ...

. Its boundaries are approximately the A660 Otley Road to the east, the A6120 Leeds Outer Ring Road to the North, the Harrogate Line railway to the West, and the Queenswood Drive / Spen Lane intersection to the South.

Amenities

The amenities of West Park lie in two main areas, on Otley Road there are several shops, a post office, a laundrette, a specialist runners shop, an estate agency, Indian and Italian restaurants. There is also a nursery for children aged up to 5 years. The main parade of shops on Otley Road has Dutch fronts. There are amenities on the Moor Grange estate around Spen Lane and Butcher Hill, which include:

Abbey Grange Church of England High School Abbey Grange Church of England Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in West Park, Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorksh ...

, St Chad's Church of England Primary School, St Andrew's church which also houses the offices of STEP (Supporting The Elderly People), a doctor's surgery, a post office, a beautician, hair salons, cafés, a

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

supermarket, newsagents, takeaways, a pet shop, a charity shop, a window and glazing store, a florist, a launderette, and a public house called 'The Dalesman'.

Lawnswood School Lawnswood School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in the Lawnswood area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The school was founded in 1972 and had its first comprehensive intake in 1974. Its predecessors were the Leed ...

lies in between West Park and Lawnswood. West Park lies close to

and

Horsforth Horsforth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish within the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying about five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a p ...

which have larger local centres. The West Park Centre (an educational facility in the premises of the former West Park High School) was demolished in 2014 after the building was declared unsafe and deemed too expensive to repair.

Transport

West Park is between the A660 and the A65, with the

running to the north of the area. The Leeds-Harrogate railway line runs through Moor Grange, but there is no station, the nearest to the south is

and

to the north. Many bus routes run through the area, providing regular services to

and

Housing

West Park has an area of early 20th century private housing between Otley Road and Spen Lane, mainly large

detached A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelli ...

and

semi detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...

houses. The streets here are mainly tree-lined and have wide pavements. There are also some older Victorian buildings around Otley Road, some of which have been divided into flats. The houses towards Otley Road are generally older and larger than those towards Spen Lane. The private housing generally lies to the East of West Park, where it gives way to

Far Headingley Far Headingley is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England approximately 3 miles (5 km) north of the city centre. The parish of Far Headingley was created in 1868. The area is part of the Weetwood ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds ...

to the South and

Lawnswood Lawnswood is a small suburb in the north west of the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. As such it is north north east of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. The suburb falls within the Adel and Wharefdale Ward of the City of Leeds Council. ...

to the North. Most of the private housing in West Park lie in a

Conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

Moor Grange Estate is a 1950s-built

council estate 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 ...

, on reclaimed farm land called 'Old Farm', together with a more affluent estate of predominantly large semi and detached housing between Spen Lane and the A660 Otley Road. The smaller Spen Estate is south of Butcher Hill. The Moor Grange area was used for filming ''

The Beiderbecke Affair ''The Beiderbecke Affair'' is a television series produced in the United Kingdom by ITV during 1985, written by the prolific Alan Plater, whose lengthy credits in British television since the 1960s included the four-part mini series '' Get Lost!' ...

'', using the Butcher Hill playing fields and the Clayton Grange flats. The crime rate in and around the Moor Grange and Spen Estates is generally lower than other council estates and house prices are similar to other North Leeds suburbs such as

Roundhay Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011. It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. History Etymology Roundh ...

, Oakwood, Adel, and

Location grid

References

{{Reflist

External links

West Park Residents' Association

STEP (Supporting The Elderly People)

West Park Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan
approved by Leeds City Council November 2008 Places in Leeds