Holt Park

Holt Park is a medium-sized yet quiet low-rise, 1970s estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England (approximately seven miles from the city centre). It is situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, and is at the edge of the Leeds metropolitan urban fringe, bordering the green belt which makes up two thirds of City of Leeds metropolitan borough. The nearby Tinshill BT Tower dominates the skyline.

Holt Park is in the Leeds North West constituency, for which the Member of Parliament is Greg Mulholland of the Liberal Democrats (who won the seat from Labour in the 2005 General Election). His constituency office is located in the Holt Park District Centre, and he holds regular surgeries at the neighbouring the Asda supermarket.

Housing

One half of Holt Park was built as a council estate; the other half as private housing- the latter being of the period 'Ashton' design (similar to many across Leeds such as Wetherby and Knottingley), comprising a mixture of detached and semi-detached housing, and several apartments. This came about after an agreement between Norman Ashton (an experienced developer) and Leeds City Council to create a new 'village' within the city, which would include a mixture of private and council housng stock with shops and leisure facilities. The farm was sold to the respective developers by The Co-op, who purchased the land in 1920 as one of five dairy farms in Leeds. [http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20031010_25126284&DISPLAY=FULL Leodis - a photographic archive of Leeds - Display ] ] The earlier housing was completed before the farm was closed, the farmer took advantage of this delivering milk to all the new residents in the early years.

The council housing is prefabricated small mews-style set in cul-de-sacs, with several parades of three storey blocks of flats. At the same time two schools, a sports centre (Holt Park Leisure Centre), a library (Holt Park Library, which was annexed to and therefore part of the High School) [ [http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=2007427_163309 Leodis - a photographic archive of Leeds - Display ] ] and a shopping centre were built. The sports centre can be found within the shopping complex, and the area is collectively known as Holt Park District Centre.

In the mid-1990s, despite much objection from local residents, those from nearby areas and admirers of the countryside, an additional estate was built by Taywood Homes. Part of the field it was built upon, nicknamed 'Devil's Field', is rumoured to have been owned by a man who had been deceased for several decades, who had wished for it only to be used for leisure activities. To this day this 'newer' estate is shunned by surrounding residents, and slightly more so due to it being rather loud in colour and therefore not blending into the area: it is surrounded by a wall, creating a look of isolation, and the 'box-style' houses are packed closely together.

There are currently no plans for any further houses in Holt Park, however the area backs onto undeveloped green field sites which could be earmarked for development in the future (although this is unlikely).

Ralph Thoresby School

The original Ralph Thoresby buildings were built around 1975, and remained the school's premises until September 2007. This previous campus was strategically built as part of the district centre, and so the leisure centre and the library were actually, as well as being fully accessible to the public, a part of the school's premises.

Holt Park Library and Ralph Thoresby High School were re-built on a new site off Holt Dale Approach (south), with the opening in September 2007. The old school buildings have since been demolished and the area cleared, although what will replace it remains unclear. This is one in a long line of North Leeds secondary schools to be rebuilt, following Lawnswood School and Roundhay School to name but two.

Holt Park District Centre

The shopping centre has decreased in character over the past ten years, with many businesses occupying the units either closing or relocating. Some have remained, however, such as the popular fish and chip shop (Holt Park Fisheries), the equally popular café and the optician. A dental practice has also been recently established. The Asda store remains the most significant retail unit at the Centre, which underwent a small extension and revised floor layout in late 2004. This is known to be in Holt Park itself, but is mistakenly named 'Asda at Adel'.

Adjacent to the shopping centre is "High Farm", the farm that the estate was originally built on and around, which was later converted to a public house. The building itself is known to date back to the 17th century and the interior of the pub still contains the original oak beams. [ [http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20031010_48183840 Leodis - a photographic archive of Leeds - Display ] ] The shopping centre also contains the area's bus 'station'. In many ways the district centre is similar (although smaller) to many new town shopping centres such as those in Newton Aycliffe and Cumbernauld.

Transport

Holt Park enjoys a frequent bus service, run by First Leeds (formerly Yorkshire Rider), notably Service 1 "Brown Line" which runs from the shopping centre, through Headingley, Leeds City Centre and terminating in the south Leeds area of Beeston. The very first bendy-buses in the United Kingdom were pioneered on this route in 1999, and still remain in operation today. The 940 bus also runs from the shopping centre to Otley, via Bramhope and Pool-in-Wharfedale. The nearest railway station to Holt Park is Horsforth (approximately a mile away), situated on the Leeds-Harrogate-York Line.

Location grid

References

External links

* Holt Park was in this parish