East End Park, Leeds

East End Park is an inner city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Burmantofts to the north west, Harehills to the north east, Halton Moor to the east, Richmond Hill to the west and Cross Green to the south west. It blends in to Halton Moor/Osmondthorpe area and is 1 mile to the east of Leeds City Centre in the LS9 Leeds postcode area.

The area is situated in the vicinity of the A64 York Road, east Leeds' main thoroughfare, and is also home to a large park dating back from Victorian times which was purchased by Leeds City Council in the late 19th century, when the park was purchased it was waste land. Housing in the area is made up of mainly nineteenth-century through terraced housing and some back-to-back terraced housing, with semi-detached and detached houses also in the area.Many of the back-to-back terraced houses in the area are due to be demomlished as part of the "EASEL" regeneration scheme in east Leeds, as are many other similar properties in neighbouring areas Richmond Hill and Cross Green.

The area is one of the major Irish communities in Leeds, and is home to the prestigious music venue 'The Irish Centre', the first pupose built Irish Centre in Britain. The centre opened on January 20th 1970, although the official opening ceremony was held on the 8th June 1970.

The bestselling non-fiction novel "Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew" by Bernard Hare is largely set in East End Park.

The Park

East End Park is a Victorian Park managed by Parks and Countryside, part of the Learning and Leisure Department,
Leeds City Council.The park offers a diverse range of sporting and leisure facilities for all age ranges, including; bowling greens, tennis courts, football pitches and a basketball court. The playground and teen shelter have been recently installed and are proving very popular.

There are plenty of open spaces in the park and areas of well established woodland create a diversity of habitat and interest. There are also formal seating areas amongst the newly established rose and shrub beds.

The Friends of East End Park are a newly established community group who contribute to the development and improvement of the park.They also assist in the organisation of three Brass Band concerts each year which are funded by the local Councillors, and for the past two years have held a Fun Day for the local children during the summer holidays. It is hoped along with the Band Concerts,to make this an annual event. With the help of the Parks Department,and Councillors,the local schools have assisted in planting spring flowering bulbs, which again has been organised by The Friends

East End Park hosts many events throughout the year including the annual bonfire and fun fair which attracts up to 10,000 visitors. A tennis camp is held each August for young people.

External links

* [http://www.leedsinitiative.org/initiativeDocuments/2006615_57242984.pdf What is EASL Regeneration Inititative ? - East Leeds re-generation]