Seacroft Farm, Dubmill Point - Geograph
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Seacroft is an outer-city suburb/township consisting mainly of
council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as 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 social housing. D ...
housing covering an extensive area of east
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
, England. It lies in the LS14 Leeds postcode area, around east 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. A ...
. It sits in the Killingbeck & Seacroft ward of
Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...
and
Leeds East Leeds East is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2015 by Richard Burgon ...
parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
. The population of the corresponding Leeds City Ward was nearly 18,000 in 2001Office for National Statistics
2001 census for Seacroft ward 17,725 on 29 April 2001
and fell to 14,426 in 2011. The name is often used as a catch-all for Seacroft and the neighbouring areas of
Whinmoor Whinmoor is a residential area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) to the north-east of the city centre and adjacent to Swarcliffe and Seacroft in the LS14 Leeds postcode area. Historically, the area was wi ...
and
Swarcliffe Swarcliffe, originally the Swarcliffe Estate, is a district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is east of Leeds city centre, and within the LS14 and LS15 Leeds postcode area. The district falls within the Cross Gates and Whinmoor ward of ...
, other large east Leeds council estates which merge into each other. Seacroft includes one of the largest council estates in the country and Yorkshire's second-largest council estate, after Bransholme in
Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...
. The latter, however, was part of
Humberside Humberside () was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber, created from portions of the East Riding of Yorkshire, West Riding of ...
county from 1974 to 1996. Because of its size, Seacroft has often been referred to as a town. The original vision, envisaged by the council, was that it would be a 'Town within the City Limits', and the Seacroft Civic Centre was often referred to as the 'Seacroft Town Centre'.Leodis photographic archive
Seacroft Town Centre, aerial view


Etymology

The name ''Seacroft'' is first attested in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086, as ''Sacroft'' and ''Sacrofft''; the spellings ''Secroft'', ''Secrofte'' are attested around 1090 (surviving in a manuscript of 1403). The name comes from the
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
words ("large body of water") and ("enclosure"). Thus the name once meant "enclosure near a pool or marsh".A. H. Smith, ''The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire'', English Place-Name Society, 30–37, 8 vols (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961–63). In vicinity of Seacroft was once found the field-name ''Chetwde'', attested in 1341, which is unusual among English names for deriving partly from
Common Brittonic Common Brittonic (; ; ), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, is a Celtic language historically spoken in Britain and Brittany from which evolved the later and modern Brittonic languages. It is a form of Insular Cel ...
: its first element is the word found today in modern Welsh as ("woodland"). The second element, added after Brittonic ceased to be understood in the region is the English word ''wood'', making the name tautological in meaning.


The Green

Seacroft was at one time a small village between Leeds and
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
. The
village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...
, known as "The Green" still exists, and is one of the oldest in the country. It has the Cricketers Arms pub on the north side and St James parish church (built 1845, architect T. Hellyer) on the south side.
John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...
preached on The Green, and as a result a Wesleyan Chapel (
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
Church) was built close by.Leeds Methodist website
Seacroft Methodist Church
Seacroft Green has a
active residents' association
File:The Green, Seacroft 11 Sep 2017.jpg, The Green File:SeacroftGreenHouses.jpg, Houses on The Green File:CricketersArms2009.jpg, The Cricketers Arms, The Green File:StJamesSeacroft09.jpg, St James's Parish Church (C of E), The Green (1845)


History


Seacroft village

Seacroft village is mentioned in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
(1086). Evidence of much earlier inhabitation was found during construction of the estate in the 1950s. A stone axe dating from the
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
age (3500–2100  BC) was found on Kentmere Avenue. In addition, two silver Roman coins were found on The Green in the 1850s. Seacroft village is the original part of Seacroft, around The Green and Cricketers Arms (pictured above), and is often referred to today. Seacroft Hall was built in the 17th century by the Shiletto family incorporating extensive landscaping and parkland. Despite being a
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
, the hall was demolished in the 1950s. The original entrance lodge still stands on York Road, with Parklands School on South Parkway now occupying the location of the hall. There is one shop in the area that was originally Seacroft Village, a small village off licence, which has been built since the building of the estate. Seacroft Grange was built in 1627 for the Tottie family and is also known as Tottie Hall. It is a grade II listed building, along with its service buildings. Although the English Heritage record says it was rebuilt in 1837 other sources record the building as original, noting that in 1837 the new tenant John Wilson renamed it to Seacroft Grange and set his coat of arms over the door. The building included a celebrated late 17th century staircase thought to have been brought from
Austhorpe Hall Austhorpe Hall is a house built in 1694 at Austhorpe, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a grade II* listed building. The house is of red brick with contrasting stone quoins, seven bays and three storeys, with a triangular pediment over t ...
. It is now part of Seacroft Grange Care Village. See also The Seacroft Village Preservation Society. There is an old non-operating windmill, that pre-dates the estate, which has been incorporated into a hotel (now known as the Britannia Hotel Leeds).


Satellite town within the city boundary

The village developed slowly over the centuries and saw very little change until the post-war years. Work on the estate began in the 1950s. Many of the older houses on the estate are more traditional red-brick semis built around the Beechwood area, to the North of the estate. In the 1960s many prefabricated houses and high-rise flats were constructed on the estate. Two main roads were built through the estate, these being North Parkway and South Parkway. North Parkway was built with a dual carriageway, in a similar way as Oak Tree Drive, Coldcotes Drive and Gipton Approach in neighbouring Gipton. In 1934, Leeds City Council bought for municipal housing, and after World War II the majority of houses and blocks of flats were built. The council had planned for Seacroft to be a "satellite town within the city boundary" In addition to this vision, other areas surrounding Seacroft were built using the same principle. In the 1960s building work in the
Swarcliffe Swarcliffe, originally the Swarcliffe Estate, is a district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is east of Leeds city centre, and within the LS14 and LS15 Leeds postcode area. The district falls within the Cross Gates and Whinmoor ward of ...
and Stanks areas started, and in the 1970s in
Whinmoor Whinmoor is a residential area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) to the north-east of the city centre and adjacent to Swarcliffe and Seacroft in the LS14 Leeds postcode area. Historically, the area was wi ...
. However, none of these were as large or ambitious as Seacroft, with the intention that these areas use many of the amenities built along with the Seacroft Estate such as the Civic Centre and Seacroft's secondary schools. As such amenities were kept to a minimum in Swarcliffe and Whinmoor, with the estates only having small local shops, public houses and primary schools. Seacroft also has the main central bus interchange for North East Leeds, although the nearest railway station is in
Cross Gates Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the sout ...
.


Seacroft Civic Centre

The 1960s also saw the construction of the Seacroft Civic Centre, which was at the time a novel way of building an outdoor purpose built town centre. The Civic Centre had a Grandways supermarket and a Woolworths as well as many other smaller shops, banks, pubs and a library. In the 1990s it had become apparent that the condition of the Civic Centre had deteriorated significantly in the 30 years since its construction. Talks were held with
Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...
, and
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
were found as the preferred bidder to rebuild the Seacroft Civic Centre.


Seacroft Green Shopping Centre

In 1999, work began clearing the site and in 2000 the new Seacroft Green Shopping Centre opened. The
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
supermarket was cited at the time to be the largest in Europe, a claim which may not have been true. It is, however, still an enormous supermarket spread over two levels (the second being a large mezzanine level, which was built a few years after the Tesco store had opened to give more space within the store). The car park was also enlarged and other shop units were built along the side of the supermarket, making the centre a crescent shape. The huge supermarket as well as the other shops promised to create hundreds more jobs then would be lost through the loss of trade in the Civic Centre, which among other factors made the redevelopment favourable with many Seacroft residents. The Seacroft Green Shopping Centre is also the main transport interchange in Seacroft, with the main bus station for Seacroft and the surrounding areas being centred there. From here buses run out through the estate as well as to the
city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...
,
Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...
and
Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...
. Seacroft bus station has five stands and an average daily footfall of 2,687. (See Transport) The centre was not entirely popular with many local residents who said they had lost their town centre to a Tesco supermarket and to an extent, this may be true. Although there are shops besides Tesco, they are far fewer than there were, the precinct area has been lost, the pubs in the centre have been lost, and there are no offices. Until the building of the new centre, and since the closure of Grandways, it was said that Seacroft suffered from 'food poverty' and fresh produce could not be bought on the estate. This was probably not true as there was a
Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, 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 democr ...
(now McColls in 2018) on South Parkway. The rebuilding of the Civic Centre did not alter the deprivation on the estate. Throughout the 2000s (decade), the condition of many of the houses on the estate deteriorated, particularly amongst the prefabricated housing to the South West of the estate. Many houses were vacated and either their condition or lack of demand dictated that the council boarded them up. The estate's high rise flats are seen as a refuge as they are harder to break into and in better condition than the houses, as such they have largely been allocated to older residents. Some (including Queensview) have become sheltered housing.


Amenities elsewhere

Regular bus services allow residents to use amenities in
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. A ...
,
Cross Gates Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the sout ...
and
Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...
. The Cross Gates Centre (formerly Arndale Centre) provides many high street shops which Seacroft lacks, while Wetherby's many pubs make it an alternative destination for evening entertainment.


Architecture

Seacroft has a variety of styles of architecture. The area surrounding the green has many old buildings, dating back to the 18th century and before. The estate also shows a variety of different styles employed by
Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...
for the duration of the estate's construction. The earlier houses dating back to the 1950s are red brick traditional terraces and semis. In the late 1960s and 1970s
prefabricated housing Prefabricated homes, often referred to as prefab homes or simply prefabs, are specialist dwelling types of prefabricated building, which are manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled. ...
was built towards the South West of the estate. The build quality of these houses was notably poor and many have now been demolished to be replaced with modern housing . The older council houses were generally built to a higher quality and are still in good condition. The
brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...
Seacroft Civic Centre stood until its demolition in 1999, when it was replaced by the Seacroft Green Shopping Centre, which is of a fairly standard design for a large supermarket and purpose-built shops. There are also many high-rise blocks of flats around the estate, mainly near the Shopping Centre, towards the bottom of South Parkway and Beechwood Avenue, around the Ramshead area and in the Bogart Hill area. Starting in 2018, many new houses are being built on the eastern end of South Parkway. File:SeacroftHousesYorkRd1.jpg, Older housing, York Road, Seacroft Village File:SeacroftSemis.jpg, 1950s Semi-detached Council Housing File:KentmereAvenue.jpg, Later semi-detached houses File:SeacroftLRFlats.jpg, Low-rise flats File:SouthParkwayShopsLS14.jpg, Shops on the South Parkway Religious buildings include the stone-built St James's Parish Church (
C of E C, or c, is the third letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C ...
, 1845), a brick
Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...
Chapel (1874), a brick
Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...
(1951, badly damaged in an arson attack in 2015, leading to its demolition in 2017) and a brick
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, Our Lady of Good Counsel (1954). File:MethodistChurchSeacroft1874.jpg, Methodist Church (Wesleyan Chapel) (1874), now Chapel FM Arts Centre (2014–present) File:SeacroftCongChurch.jpg, Seacroft Congregational Church (1951) Demolished in 2017 File:LadyOfGoodCounselLeeds.jpg, Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church (1954) File:St Richards Church - viewed from Ramshead Hill (geograph 3985505).jpg, St Richard's CofE church File:St James's Church, Seacroft - geograph.org.uk - 140201.jpg, St James' CofE church predates the estate File:Church of the Ascension - Ironwood Approach, Seacroft - geograph.org.uk - 893946.jpg, Church of the Assumption, vacated by the church of England in 2012, now used by
Forward in Faith Forward in Faith (FiF) is an organisation operating in the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church. It represents a traditionalist strand of Anglo-Catholicism and is characterised by its opposition to the ordination of women to the pri ...


Seacroft Hospital

Seacroft Hospital is Leeds' third-largest
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
, being significantly smaller than the
Leeds General Infirmary Leeds General Infirmary, also known as the LGI, is a large teaching hospital based in the centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, and is part of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Its previous name The General Infirmary at Leeds is still ...
and
St James' University Hospital St James's University Hospital ''Confirming name as "St James's"'' is a tertiary hospital in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and is popularly known as Jimmy's. It is the 8th largest hospital by beds in the United Kingdom, popularised for its t ...
. Situated between Seacroft and
Killingbeck Killingbeck is a district of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England named after the Killingbeck family, historic local landowners, and is situated between Seacroft to the north, Cross Gates and Whitkirk to the east, Gipton to the west, Halton ...
, opposite the former Killingbeck Isolation Hospital, the hospital is accessible from the A64 York Road. It was constructed between 1893 and 1904, with a brick clock tower (also a water tower) designed by E. T. Hall under
Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
influence.Steven Burt & Kevin Grady (2002) ''The Illustrated History of Leeds'' 2nd edn (Breedon Books, derby) Brian Godward (2004) ''The Changing Faces of Leeds'' (Sutton Publishing, Stroud) Services have been moved from Seacroft Hospital to other hospitals around Leeds. Many of the buildings are in a poor state of repair. The health authority, in keeping with its policy to concentrate all services at the Leeds General Infirmary and St James hospitals, considers selling off the older parts of the hospital for redevelopment.


Industry

There is a small industrial estate in Seacroft on Limewood Approach. Cable and Wireless had a depot there for many years, but it closed in 2008. On the estate, Seacroft Waste Sorting Facility is based,
Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...
have a major depot and Transco operated a small facility until 2008. Large factories of
Agfa Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Agfa) is a Belgian-German multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, and distributes Analog photography, analogue and digital imaging products, software, and systems. The company began as a dye manufacturer in 1867 ...
and
Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...
are situated in nearby
Whinmoor Whinmoor is a residential area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) to the north-east of the city centre and adjacent to Swarcliffe and Seacroft in the LS14 Leeds postcode area. Historically, the area was wi ...
.


Education


Primary

The primary schools in Seacroft are: *Beechwood Primary School, Kentmere Avenue LS14 6QB *Grange Farm Primary Schoo

Bancroft Rise LS14 1AX *Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Primary School, Pigeon Cote Road LS14 1EP *Parklands Primary Schoo

Dufton Approach LS14 6ED *Seacroft Grange Primary School, Moresdale Lane, LS14 6JR


Secondary

The
Bishop Young Church of England Academy Bishop Young Church of England Academy (formerly known as David Young Community Academy) is a state-funded academy sponsored by the Church of England in Seacroft, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.David Young, a former bishop of Ripon. It is a state-funded
academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
sponsored by the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
. Leeds East Academy is a coeducational school that originated in Parkland Girls' High School (built 1954) on South Parkway.Ofsted
Parkland Girls' High School
This was the last single-sex state school in Leeds before its closure. Leeds East Academy has now relocated to new buildings on the same site. The main
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
in Seacroft was Foxwood School, which became an adult education centre, the East Leeds Family Learning Centre, but was demolished in 2009. The school was used as 'San Quentin High' in ''
The Beiderbecke Affair ''The Beiderbecke Affair'' is a television series produced in the United Kingdom by ITV (TV network), ITV during 1985, written by the prolific Alan Plater, whose lengthy credits in British television since the 1960s included the four-part mini se ...
''. The buildings were completed in 1962 An image of the new school and are a complex of buildings set in a square with a central courtyard. The main building was a six-storey tower block. Notable former pupils include
Andrew Edge Andrew Edge (born David Andrew Edge; 8 December 1956) is a musician from Leeds, England. He moved to London in the late 1970s, and joined the Thompson Twins. After eighteen months Edge left the group and joined Uropa Lula, who released three sin ...
(musician),
David Harvey David William Harvey (born 31 October 1935) is a British-American academic best known for Marxist analyses that focus on urban geography as well as the economy more broadly. He is a Distinguished Professor of anthropology and geography at t ...
(footballer) and
Ellery Hanley Cuthwyn Ellery Hanley (born 27 March 1961) is an English former rugby league player and coach. Over a nineteen-year professional career (1978–1997), he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain, Western Suburbs and Leeds. He won 36 ca ...
(rugby league player). Former teachers include
Colin Burgon Colin Burgon (born 22 April 1948) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Elmet from 1997 to 2010. Early life Colin Burgon was born in Leeds to Catholic, Labour-supporting parents. His mother, Winnie, ...
( Labour Party MP for
Elmet Elmet (), sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic Celtic Cumbric-speaking kingdom between about the 4th century and mid-7th century. The people of Elmet survived as a distinctly recognised Brittonic Celtic group for centuri ...
which included
Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...
,
Garforth Garforth () is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It sits in the Garforth and Swillington ward of Leeds City Council and the Leeds East parliamentary constituency. As of 2011, the population ...
,
Cross Gates Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the sout ...
and
Swarcliffe Swarcliffe, originally the Swarcliffe Estate, is a district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is east of Leeds city centre, and within the LS14 and LS15 Leeds postcode area. The district falls within the Cross Gates and Whinmoor ward of ...
), who himself was from
Gipton Gipton is a suburb of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, between the A58 to the north and the A64 to the south. It is in the Gipton and Harehills ward of Leeds City Council and the Leeds East parliamentary constituency. The separate area ...
.


Politics

Seacroft falls into the Killingbeck & Seacroft electoral ward of
Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...
and
Leeds East Leeds East is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2015 by Richard Burgon ...
parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
, represented by Labour MP
Richard Burgon Richard Burgon (born 19 September 1980) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds East since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, Burgon served as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chance ...
. As of
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, it has three Labour councillors.democracy.leeds.gov.uk
/ref> Seacroft was formerly a
township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
in the parishes of
Whitkirk Whitkirk is a suburb of east Leeds, England. It is situated between Cross Gates to the north, Austhorpe to the east, Killingbeck to the west, Colton to the south-east and Halton to the south-west. The Temple Newsam estate lies directly sou ...
and Leeds and a
chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...
in the parish of Whitkirk, in 1866 Seacroft became a separate
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
, on 9 November 1912 the parish was abolished and merged with Leeds. In 1911 the parish had a population of 1695.


Local media

The local newspaper for Seacroft is the ''
Yorkshire Evening Post The ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' (''YEP'') is a regional daily newspaper covering the City of Leeds. Founded in 1890 it is published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, National World. Despite being having coverage and being sold across West Yorkshire ...
'', thought the ''
Wetherby News The ''Wetherby News'' is a local weekly Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published on a Thursday and based in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, England. The newspaper was founded in 1859 with its offices on the High Street next to the Ang ...
'' is also sold in the area (although its news coverage generally stops beyond the
Shadwell Shadwell is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England. It also forms part of the city's East End of London, East End. Shadwell is on the north bank of the River Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff and ...
and
Whinmoor Whinmoor is a residential area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) to the north-east of the city centre and adjacent to Swarcliffe and Seacroft in the LS14 Leeds postcode area. Historically, the area was wi ...
areas). The local
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
radio station is
BBC Radio Leeds BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of West Yorkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at St Peter's Square in Leeds. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audienc ...
. Many other Leeds radio stations can be received, but ChapelFM deals specifically with Seacroft and surrounding areas. Neighbouring areas such as Whinmoor are often covered in Wetherby's
Tempo FM Tempo FM is the local community radio station for Wetherby, Boston Spa and the surrounding villages in the West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire areas. The radio station mainly plays easy listening music and is run entirely by volunteers as a "No ...
.


Reputation

Seacroft has a poor reputation across Leeds. A large portion of the housing is council owned, and the few jobs tend to be low paid casual or manual work. Many of the houses, particularly
prefabricated housing Prefabricated homes, often referred to as prefab homes or simply prefabs, are specialist dwelling types of prefabricated building, which are manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled. ...
around South Parkway have been boarded up and are unfit for any future habitation. This is due to a multimillion-pound city re-development scheme whose earlier progress can be seen in the similar estates around the Coal Road area. The area's poor reputation has been focused on by journalist
Donal MacIntyre Donal MacIntyre is an Irish investigative journalist, specialising in investigations, undercover operations and television exposés. He has also worked as a presenter of both television news and documentaries on various UK channels. In 2007, ...
. Neighbouring
Gipton Gipton is a suburb of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, between the A58 to the north and the A64 to the south. It is in the Gipton and Harehills ward of Leeds City Council and the Leeds East parliamentary constituency. The separate area ...
also shares this poor reputation. 85.49% of occupied houses in Seacroft fall within the Band A council tax rate (the lowest based on house values). However, the negative image of Seacroft was challenged in 2008 by a
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
article called 'The Estate' depicting life on the estate.


Recorded crime statistics

Below is a table from Leeds Observatory, detailing crime from 2018 ward in LS14 from March 2020 to February 2021.


Transport


Public transport

Seacroft bus station was rebuilt as part of the Seacroft Green Shopping Centre and has five drive-in-reverse-out stands. Buses go from here to
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. A ...
and to other neighbouring areas of the city such as
Cross Gates Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the sout ...
,
Gipton Gipton is a suburb of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, between the A58 to the north and the A64 to the south. It is in the Gipton and Harehills ward of Leeds City Council and the Leeds East parliamentary constituency. The separate area ...
and
Whinmoor Whinmoor is a residential area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) to the north-east of the city centre and adjacent to Swarcliffe and Seacroft in the LS14 Leeds postcode area. Historically, the area was wi ...
as well as Wetherby.
First Leeds First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and Fir ...
runs the majority of the services that serve the bus station. Their service 49 serves the Monkswood Gate area in the north of Seacroft, but not the bus station. The closest railway station is
Cross Gates Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the sout ...
, with services operating to
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
,
Garforth Garforth () is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It sits in the Garforth and Swillington ward of Leeds City Council and the Leeds East parliamentary constituency. As of 2011, the population ...
,
Bradford Interchange Bradford Interchange is a transport interchange in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, which consists of a railway station and bus station adjacent. The Interchange, which was designed in 1962, was hailed as a showpiece of European design and wa ...
, Halifax,
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
,
Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...
and
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
.


East Leeds Orbital Route (ELOR)

Since the 1960s, the
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 29 miles (45 km) and consists of single and dual carriageways. The road is not a lo ...
has been considered to create a social barrier between Seacroft and
Swarcliffe Swarcliffe, originally the Swarcliffe Estate, is a district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is east of Leeds city centre, and within the LS14 and LS15 Leeds postcode area. The district falls within the Cross Gates and Whinmoor ward of ...
, which prompted calls for a bypass around East Leeds' suburbs. The project started in summer 2018 and is set to build a new route linking the orbital Ring Road (A6120) at Red Hall to the A58, the A64 and Leeds Road to connect with
Thorpe Park Thorpe Park, formerly also known as Thorpe Park Resort, is a theme park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertai ...
at Junction 46 of the M1, set to be complete by summer 2023 with enhancement finished by autumn 2023. The East Leeds Orbital Route is the biggest infrastructure project undertaken by
Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...
for fifty years, since the completion of the
Leeds Inner Ring Road The Leeds Inner Ring Road is part-motorway and part- A roads in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which forms a ring road around the city centre. It has six different road numbers that are all sections of longer roads. Clockwise, the road ...
in 1974. It is intended to ease congestion in existing residential areas like
Cross Gates Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the sout ...
, Seacroft and
Whitkirk Whitkirk is a suburb of east Leeds, England. It is situated between Cross Gates to the north, Austhorpe to the east, Killingbeck to the west, Colton to the south-east and Halton to the south-west. The Temple Newsam estate lies directly sou ...
, and will also play a key role in the growth plans for the city for years to come. It will allow the development of the surrounding areas of the road, with the development of possible new shops, houses, and schools.


Distances to nearby places of significance

*
Cross Gates Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the sout ...
*
Whinmoor Whinmoor is a residential area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) to the north-east of the city centre and adjacent to Swarcliffe and Seacroft in the LS14 Leeds postcode area. Historically, the area was wi ...
* Scholes *
Garforth Garforth () is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It sits in the Garforth and Swillington ward of Leeds City Council and the Leeds East parliamentary constituency. As of 2011, the population ...
*
Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...
*
Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...
*
Leeds Bradford International Airport Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. It serves Leeds and Bradford and the ...
*
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
*
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
*
Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...
*
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...


Location grid


See also

*
List of large council estates in the UK A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* Listed buildings in Seacroft and Killingbeck


References


External links


Seacroft Village Preservation Society websiteBBC News website "The Estate" article about Seacroft"Planting the food desert"
— Higher Education and Research Opportunities in the U.K.

— Website Dedicated to Queensview & Seacroft. * – Seacroft was in this parish

* ttp://www.seacrofttoday.co.uk/yourseacroft/Seacroft-History.1794815.jp ''Yorkshire Evening Post'', History of Seacroft* ttps://archive.today/20121224105633/http://www.wells-genealogy.org.uk/school/foxdemolition.htm Foxwood School in its final year {{City of Leeds Places in Leeds Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire