Quarry Hill, Leeds

Quarry Hill is an area of Central Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is surrounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road to the east and north. The Leeds - York / Hull railway runs just south of the district into the city centre.

It was originally an inner-city area of Leeds. Between 1938 and 1978 Quarry Hill was home to what was at the time the largest social housing complex in the United Kingdom and it was noted for then radical features such as solid fuel ranges, electric lighting, a state-of-the-art refuse disposal system and communal facilities. However due to social problems and poor construction methods seen with such developments, the Quarry Hill Flats were demolished in 1978.

The flats were shown in the opening sequence of the popular 1970s sit-com "Queenie's Castle" (1970-72) which starred Diana Dors.

Since the 1980s, Quarry Hill has been a focus for regeneration within Leeds, and today is home to the West Yorkshire Playhouse which opened in 1990, Quarry House, a Department of Health/Department for Work and Pensions building with a social/leisure complex, which opened in 1993, the BBC Yorkshire building and the Leeds College of Music. Century Square and the Playhouse Square are located at Quarry Hill. The regeneration has seen Quarry Hill become disassociated with East Leeds, and become part of Central Leeds.

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/citylife/quarry_hill/history.shtml BBC Leeds - Detailed history on Quarry Hill]