West Park is a suburb of north-west

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, 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 Headingley ...

. 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 Moor Grange Estate is a housing estate in the West Park, Leeds, West Park area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which was built in the 1950s on reclaimed farmland. Work on the Moor Grange Estate began in 1955. It was originally owned by the l ...

. 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 (Outer Ring Road), on the west by the A660 (Otley Road), on the east by Meanwood Beck and to the sout ...

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 ...

, 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), Kirkstall electoral ward, ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central and Headingley (UK Parl ...

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 29 miles (45 km) and consists of single and dual carriageways. The road is not a lo ...

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 (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 provid ...

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 2024 by Katie White, of the Labour Party. History The constituency was created in 1950, as Leeds North-We ...

constituency including Weetwood ward (served by

Labour Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an el ...

Member of Parliament,

Alex Sobel Alexander David Sobel (born 26 April 1975) is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds Central and Headingley, previously Leeds North West, since 2017. He served as Shadow Minister ...

) and

Leeds West Leeds West was a borough constituency covering the western part of the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire which was represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one M ...

constituency (represented by fellow Labour MP

Rachel Reeves Rachel Jane Reeves (born 13 February 1979) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds West and Pudsey, formerly Leed ...

) covering Kirkstall ward. It has the

postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

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. A ...

. 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 A shopping parade, also known as a parade of shops, suburban parade, neighbourhood parade, or just a simply a parade is a group of between five and 40 shops in one or more continuous rows, mostly being retail and serving a local customer base; in ...

on Otley Road has Dutch fronts. There are amenities on the

estate around Spen Lane and Butcher Hill, which include: Abbey Grange Church of England High School, 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, 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 ...

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 Lee ...

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 in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 18,895 ...

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

, 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 single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling, single-family residence (SFR) or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a multi-family residential dwelling. Definitions ...

and

semi detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single-family Duplex (building), duplex dwelling that shares one common party wall, wall with its neighbour. The name distinguishes this style of construction from detached houses, with no sh ...

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 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 North West parliamenta ...

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 in the north north east of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. The suburb falls within the Adel and Wharfedale Ward of the City of Leeds Coun ...

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 or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

Estate is a 1950s-built

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 ...

, 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 (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 ...

'', 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), Roundhay electoral, ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East (UK Parliament constituen ...

, 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