Harehills

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude = 53.806600
longitude = -1.505300
map_type = West Yorkshire
official_name = Harehills
population =
metropolitan_borough = Leeds
metropolitan_county = West Yorkshire
region = Yorkshire and the Humber
constituency_westminster = Leeds North East
post_town = LEEDS
postcode_district = LS9
postcode_area = LS
dial_code = 0113
os_grid_reference = SE326345
static_

static_image_caption = A street in Harehills

Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately Convert|1|mi|km|lk=on north east of Leeds City Centre. Harehills is situated between the A58 (towards Wetherby) and the A64 (towards York). Official Government figures have listed Harehills as the 429th most deprived of England’s 8,414 electoral wards – in the top 5%. Unemployment in Harehills is at 9%, compared to less than 4% across the City of Leeds. [http://www.yorkshire-forward.com/www/view.asp?content_id=1406&parent_id=1226]

Overview

It is situated between Burmantofts and Gipton, and adjacent to Chapeltown. As the name suggests it is a hill area, basically a south-facing slope, with many streets of terraced houses on hills. In the middle is Banstead Park, a grassy slope with trees and play areas, giving a view over the city of Leeds. Banstead Park was home to rioting in 2001. Along with neighbouring Chapeltown, Harehills has suffered from rioting and sporadic unrest. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/tx/documentaries/round_my_way.shtml] There has however been no notable incidents of unrest in Harehills since 2001.

The cheaper housing has made it attractive to immigrants, with the result that it has a considerable cultural and ethnic mixture. There are two main shopping streets, Harehills Lane and Harehills Road which join at the junction of Roundhay Road (A58 road) leading to Oakwood. Also, heading Convert|0.6|mi|km|0|lk=off up Harehills Lane towards the A64 York Road at the junction with Compton Road, is Harehills's other main shopping area.

It has Anglican, Roman Catholic and Methodist churches, and the Masjid, one of the few purpose built mosques in the UK.

On the August Bank Holiday the Leeds Carnival is held with a procession through Harehills and Chapeltown.

The vicar of St Aidan's Church in Harehills, Alan Taylor, is also a Leeds City Councillor and Deputy Lord Mayor of Leeds.

[http://www.chapeltown.org IMPaCT] is a community partnership which aims to improve the Chapeltown and Harehills areas.

History

By 1850, Leeds had grown through industrialisation, to the North, South and West, however there was a particular lack of development to the East of the city. The existing villages did not seem to stimulate any suburban growth in this area. The mining activity to the East of the city also failed to stimulate growth. At this time there was open countryside only a mile from Briggate. The building of the Leeds tramway along York Road and Roundhay Road began to stimulate some growth, and by the time of the production on the 1906 Ordnance Survey Map, Harehills was an established community. At this time Harehills was home to a purpose built reservoir, owned by the Leeds Corporation Water Works. There were also by this time two large textile factories on Hudson Road, as well as two large brick works, The Harehills Brickworks and the Gipton Brickworks (the latter being on Darfield Road in Harehills and not in Gipton as the name would suggest), there was the York Road Iron Works as well as a few farms, which were quickly redeveloped. [ISBN 0-85064-992-2]

Harehills and the surrounding area also had significant mining infrastructure, with collieries at York Road, Killingbeck, Neville Hill, Osmondthorpe and Burmantofts. However none of these collieries survived beyond the 1960s. Throughout the second half of the Twentieth century, coal was generally brought from Rothwell, Castleford and Pontefract.

Until 1900 the tramways on York Road were pulled by horses, however in 1900 they were electrified. This improved transportation and stimulated further growth around Harehills, Burmantofts and Osmondthorpe. The location of St James' Hospital also stimulated growth in the area. The Hospital quickly grew to be one of the city's main hospitals, and is now the largest in Yorkshire.

By the 1960s, the mining and textile industry in Harehills was dwindling and the area was particularly run down. This lead to the development of new housing, particularly around the hospital, such as the building of the Shakespeare high rise flats. Most of Harehills stayed the same, and even now, most of the Victorian terraces and back to backs still stand. Most of the council development around East Leeds was in new communities such as Gipton, Seacroft, Halton Moor, Swarcliffe and Whinmoor.

Low rental prices attracted many commonwealth immigrants to Harehills, throughout the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Harehills now has significant Asian and Afro-Carribean communities. Crime and deprivation continue to be an issue in Harehills. Racial tension has caused problems in the area, resulting in rioting in 2001. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1372301.stm]

Amenities

Harehills' amenities are not located within one centre but spread across the area, mainly on Roundhay Road and Harehills Lane. The area's largest supermarket, Kwiksave on Roundhay Road recently closed. There is however still a Co-op, a Farmfoods and the new continental supermarket on the former site of the Fforde Green. There are no secondary schools actually in Harehills but many situated close by. St James' University Hospital is situated in Leeds. There are several pubs in Harehills, although considerably fewer than there once was. Pubs remaining in Harehills include "Delaney's Irish Bar", "The Dock Green" and The Samuel Smiths pub, "The Brown Hare". Many of the shops in Harehills are aimed at the area's large Asian community, and often have shop signs in a variety of Asian languages as opposed to English. Harehills is home to many Indian Takeaways. Roundhay Road is often known as 'The Curry Mile'. [http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/wanted/index.asp?aID=38882]

Transport

Harehills is situated between the A58 and the A64. It has no form of public transport other than the numerous bus routes that run through various parts of the district. It was formerly on the network of the Leeds Tramway and was on a proposed route of the Leeds Supertram before its cancelation. However it may yet gain a light transit system, if its inclusion on the Leeds Trolleybus comes to fruition as suggested. The location of St James' University Hospital has made the inclusion of Harehills in such projects. Harehills is well placed for access to Leeds City Centre and Wetherby. Buses run through Harehills to Leeds City Centre. Oakwood, Roundhay, Gipton, Seacroft and Wetherby. Buses running through Harehills are operated by First Leeds, while other infrasturcture is maintained by Metro.

Leeds Overground

Harehills is served by four bus services on the 'Leeds Overground' (frequent bus services identified by a schematic colour coded map similar to that used on the underground). The orange line runs along the A58 Roundhay Road, linking Harehills with Seacroft, Leeds City Centre and Horsforth. The Indigo line also runs along Roundhay Road linkiing Harehills with Seacroft, Leeds City Centre and Bramley. The Blue line runs along Roundhay Road linking Harehills with Oakwood, Roundhay and [Leeds City Centre. The Mauve line runs along Harehills Lane, linking Harehills with Gipton, Leeds City Centre and Farnley. [http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/yorkhumber/leeds/map/Leedsoverground.pdf]

Crime

"See also: Harehills riot"

Harehills has a poor reputation in the Leeds area. Harehills shares its poor reputation with neighbouring Chapeltown. Harehills was subject to sparodic rioting in 2001 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1477219.stm] [http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/citylife/harehills_guide.shtml] , however there has been no unrest on such a scale since. The Fforde Green Public House had a poor reputation and has since been closed down and is now a continental supermarket. Another pub in the area, The Florence Nightingale was subject to a gas explosion after the attempted theft of copper piping; the building had to be demolished. Racial motives were cited as the reason for the rioting, a claim which the West Yorkshire Police said was a poor excuse for legitimising criminal behaviour. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1372301.stm] Harehills also has problems with drug dealing and gun crime. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7536611.stm] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7365319.stm] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7537853.stm] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7472651.stm] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7451097.stm] [http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/wanted/index.asp?aID=38882]

Bad Press

"A Kooky Old Place", a BBC Report

The area has been subject to much bad press over the years. In 2007, the BBC interviewed local residents. One resident described Harehills as "a horrible place to live" and complained about joy riding, rubbish, drug dealing, arson and vermin. The man's report went on to say:

"Often you will see a group of young children chasing vermin into an overgrown backyard. This is a sight you would expect to see in a third-world country not the modern, vibrant city that Leeds portrays itself to be." [http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/citylife/harehills_mr_sutcliffe.shtml]

Another resident described it as being a pleasant place since the 1970s, but has since changed 'beyond recognition'. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/citylife/harehills_kevin_hickson.shtml]

However a third interviewed resident was more positive, although critical in her report, and echoing many of the complaints before, she mentions the 'pride of the residents in the upkeep of their houses'. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/citylife/harehills_juliet_wilson.shtml]

Yorkshire Evening Post

The Yorkshire Evening Post has reported on numerous crimes in Harehills. Most articles regarding Harehills are regarding serious crime in the area, including assault, robbery and shootings. [http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/googlesearch.aspx?Keywords=Harehills] From June to August 2008, the Yorkshire Evening Post reported on four murders and serious assaults (including the use of firearms) [http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Harehills-street-sealed-off-after.4400659.jp] [http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/crime/Leeds-Harehills-shooting-FIRST-PICTURE.4229539.jp] [http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/crime/VIDEO-Leeds-Harehills-shooting-victim.4224358.jp] [http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Leeds-Harehills-shooting-efit-issue.4238179.jp]

The Yorkshire Evening Post has also reported on the poor state of public space in Harehills. [http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/letusplay/LET-US-PLAY--city39s.4238247.jp]

Regeneration

In October 2003, Harehills received £100,000 towards regeneration from Yorkshire Forward. [http://www.yorkshire-forward.com/www/view.asp?content_id=1406&parent_id=1226] Leeds City Council have also invested in the area. Investment has also included a new children's centre. [http://leedslibdems.org.uk/news/000224/childrens_centre_to_boost_harehills_regeneration.html]

Gallery

Images of Harehills

Location Grid

References

External links

* [http://www.chapeltown.org IMPaCT Community Website]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/citylife/harehills_guide.shtml BBC Guide to Harehills]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/6580703.stm Appeal after take-away shooting]
* Historical and genealogical resource for area including Harehills
* [http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20071119_165348 Leodis] Aerial view of Harehills (1990s)