Halton Moor

History

Before the 20th century, Halton Moor was open land between Osmondthorpe and the older village of Halton which was constructed in the late 19th century. Halton Moor Estate was built in the 1930s, one of several low-density housing estates in Leeds built to accommodate the growing population and to house people moved from the areas of high-density housing destroyed in the inner-city slum clearances.

Housing is red brick terraced and semi-detached housing typical of council housing of its era. Later in the twentieth century a high-rise block of flats was constructed to the south of the estate and stands in contrast to the low-density 1930s council housing that makes up the rest of the estate.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, the estate suffered a period of decline. Although it benefited from estate action funding from 1989, by 2000 the decline was so marked that a committee of MPs recommended the estate for demolition and reconstruction. However, following substantial intervention both through the renovation of the housing stock and selective demolition of harder to let properties, the estate is now seen as having good scope for continuing regeneration.

Geography and demographics

Halton Moor was built as a low density garden suburb, one of several constructed in Leeds in the 1930s and 1940s. It is set on the side of a hill overlooking East End Park and Leeds City Centre. The western boundary of Halton Moor is marked by Wyke Beck, a tributary of the River Aire which rises in Roundhay Park and discharges into the River Aire at Rothwell.

The estate is laid out around Coronation Parade, a central boulevard running east to west. Several roads running broadly north to south following the contours of the hillside, while at the centre of the estate is a relatively large open greenspace. Subsequently, substantial traffic calming measures including the installation of speed cushions and bumps, chicanes and selective road closures have been introduced to reduce the level of joyriding.

Halton Moor combined with the Wykebecks in Osmondthorpe has a population of around 6,233 people. 5.43% of the population is from a BME background, around half the proportion for Leeds as a whole. The area has higher than average levels of benefit claimants and worklessness, though it compares favourably to Leeds as a whole for indicators around quality of housing and environment, and community safety.

Regeneration

The estate was granted Estate Action funding in 1989, which ran into the 2000s. In 2000, the estate was visited by a Parliamentary committee who identified problem with high unemployment, low demand for housing on the estate, high rates of crime; particularly joy riding and arson and low take up of resident property purchases under the right-to-buy scheme (at the time around 3–5 per cent of properties had been bought). The committee noted that previous regeneration programmes on the estate had failed and that social problems and dilapidation persisted. Traffic calming measures were introduced around this time to mitigate problems associated with joy riding. The estate's three tower blocks; each containing 60 flats were rationalised due to low demand. Two of these blocks were demolished in the early 2000s and the third; Lakeland Court was refurbished at a cost of £3 million. Residents in the two demolished blocks were rehoused in Lakeland Court and other vacant properties on the estate.

Amenities

The estate has relatively few amenities compared to other 1930s estates in the city such as Belle Isle and Middleton. The Halton Moor at the centre of the estate was a landmark, but this closed in 2009 and was demolished in 2018; there is also a convenience store on the estate. To the edge of the estate there are churches and schools. Besides this all local amenities are on Selby Road in Halton.

Religious sites

The whole of the Halton Moor is within the Anglican parish of St Wilfrid, Halton, which is a grade II* listed church built in 1939 at a cost of £11,700 and designed by A. Randall Wells. The church is in the Arts and Crafts style and still has many of the original fittings designed by Wells as well as contemporary art by Eric Gill.

On the Halton Moor estate, the Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church opened in 1962. Until 2008, the church was not part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds, but was under the jurisdiction of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a French Roman Catholic order. Corpus Christi has primary and secondary schools operated by the Diocese of Leeds associated with it.

Governance

Halton Moor is within the Temple Newsam Ward of Leeds City Council and is represented by three Labour councillors. The estate is in the Leeds East parliamentary constituency and is represented by Labour MP Richard Burgon.

Notable people

The entrepreneur and philanthropist Jimi Heselden was born and brought up in Halton Moor.

The author and playwright Keith Waterhouse moved to Halton Moor from Hunslet,

Simon Clifford, the football coach and owner of Garforth Town A.F.C., taught for several years at Corpus Christi Catholic Primary school in Halton Moor.

The former Wales international footballer Aubrey Powell, who also played for Leeds United, Everton and Birmingham City lived for many years in Halton Moor following his retirement from football.

Actress Liz Dawn, known for portraying Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street (as a regular from 1976 to 2008) grew up on the estate.

In the media

Due to its decline in the 1980s and 1990s, Halton Moor has been the focus of media attention, of which much was negative. In 2008 this led to the area becoming the subject of the television series CCTV Cities in which journalist Donal MacIntyre focused on crime and delinquency, showing arson on Bonfire Night (during which police were attacked with fireworks), car theft and joyriding.

Before the United Kingdom general elections of 2001 and 2005, author and journalist Sue Townsend reported for The Observer, looking at the impact of a Labour Government on some of the most deprived areas in Leeds. The second visit identified improvements to the estate brought about by regeneration.

The TV films Tina Goes Shopping and Tina Takes a Break, the first parts of a trilogy (including Mischief Night, directed by Penny Woolcock), were partly filmed on Halton Moor using several actors from the area, some of whom subsequently fell foul of the law in real life for activities depicted in the films.

The area also received extensive media coverage in April 2014, after a teacher was fatally stabbed by a pupil at Corpus Christi Catholic College in an isolated event.

National media continue to return to the estate for stories of crime, lawlessness and antisocial behaviour, with various newspapers dubbing the estate as "The Zoo" in 2020.

Location grid

References

References

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28. (28 April 2014). "Teacher stabbed to death at Leeds school". BBC News.
29. (15 November 2020). "Inside 'lawless' estate named 'The Zoo' where yobs attack police and terrorise families". [[Daily Mirror]].