Outwood, West Yorkshire

Coordinates: 53°42′43″N 1°30′00″W / 53.712°N 1.500°W / 53.712; -1.500

Coordinates: 53°42′43″N 1°30′00″W / 53.712°N 1.500°W / 53.712; -1.500

Outwood
Outwood  Outwood shown within West Yorkshire
Population	7,623
OS grid reference	SE330240
Metropolitan borough	City of Wakefield
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Wakefield
Postcode district	WF
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Morley and Outwood
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Outwood is a district to the north of Wakefield, a city in West Yorkshire, England. The district is centred on the A61 Leeds Road south of Lofthouse. It was originally a small pit village, but there has been so much new housing in the last twenty years that the old village is now only a minority of the district. In 2001, it has a population of 7623.^[1]

The area near the train station was once the site of Lofthouse pit, that is known for the disaster in March 1973 that claimed the lives of several miners. The site of the mine is now a golf course and housing estate.

The Wakefield 41 Industrial Estate is also situated near to Outwood.

Transport

Outwood railway station is an unmanned station, served by Northern Rail, offering rail services towards Leeds, Wakefield, Doncaster and Sheffield. The A61 (Leeds Road) runs through the middle of Outwood, connecting towards Leeds to the north and Wakefield to the south. Junction 41 of the M1 is also close-by.

Education

Outwood is home to Outwood Grange Academy, one of the largest secondary schools in the UK with over 2000 students. The local primary schools are St Peter's CofE Primary & Nursery School, Ledger Lane Junior & Infant School (headteacher Mrs Goff), Jerry Clay Lane Primary and Rooks Nest Primary School. There are plans to build a Children's Centre at St Peter's school to open in Spring 2008.

Sport and recreation

Outwood is home to one park. Outwood Park has facilities for football, 5 a side, crown green bowling and a children's play area. Outwood is also home to two other playing fields and another play area. Local teams include Nightingale Football Club and Outwood Rangers Junior Football Club.

Local agriculture

Outwood is located within the Rhubarb Triangle. Because of its mining history Outwood has good supplies of soot and ash to condition its soil, which provide good conditions for the plant to grow.

References

1. ^ "Census 2001 Neighbourhood Profile: Outwood" (PDF). Wakefield Council. http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/9292E9AB-1A9A-4106-9127-A8F635044CA9/0/Outwood.pdf. Retrieved 20 March 2011. 

External links

Media related to Outwood, West Yorkshire at Wikimedia Commons