Ireland Wood

Coordinates: 53°50′46″N 1°36′00″W / 53.846°N 1.600°W / 53.846; -1.600

The Wise Owl Public House, which has since been demolished

Ireland Wood is a small residential area in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north west of Leeds city centre. The area falls within the Weetwood ward of Leeds City Council. The original planning for Ireland Wood began in 1950.^[1]^[2]

The estate was constructed throughout the 1950s and provided a refuge from the slum houses in industrial parts of the city which they (along with other similar areas) replaced. This estate is particularly leafy, due to the amount of greenery and woodland surrounding, which gives way for the name.

The district is close to the areas Holt Park, Cookridge, Tinshill and the Leeds Ring Road.

The area's main thoroughfare is the Otley Old Road. There are two primary schools in the area. One of these is called Iveson House (commonly referred to as Iveson Primary) the other is called Holy Name, which is a Catholic primary school. Moor Grange school was on Parkstone Avenue but has since been demolished and replaced by a HM Revenue and Customs office. A public house named The Wise Owl was at the top of Otley Old Road was demolished in 2010. A row of shops is at the top of Iveson Approach, consisting of a corner shop,zigzig charity shop, cleaning services, hairdressers, sandwich shop, yoga and pilates, Indian takeout.

Housing

Council Housing in Ireland Wood in November 2008.

Beever's Court (flats) in Ireland Wood, November 2008.

Most housing in Ireland Wood is late 1940s concrete, prefabricated housing. This stock is generally in a good condition and has been recently refurbished. There is one block of highrise flats, Beever's Court, situated on Iveson Approach. Most housing in the area is off yellow in colour, but as many houses in the area have been bought by their residents, some owners have painted their houses white. From late 2013 many council houses have seen a repaint, accompanied with new insulation.

Most housing on the estate comprises semi-detached properties with two or three bedrooms. Council housing on nearby estates such as Tinshill and Moor Grange is built with bricks brick, as opposed to being prefabricated, and so generally fetches a higher price on the property market.

Amenities

Parade of Shops on Iveson Approach

Premier off licence on Raynel Approach, nicknamed "Paul's"

The area had one pub, The Wise Owl, which has since been knocked down to make room for a medical health centre, three schools, Iveson Primary School, Ireland Wood Primary School and a Catholic primary school called Holy Name School, as well as three parades of shops, the main one on Iveson Approach next to the Beever's Court Flats, one on Otley Old Road and a further parade which now just contains a Premier Convenience Shop on Raynel Approach. The row of shops on Otley Old Road contains Ireland Wood Post Office. Royal Mail have a sorting office on Iveson Approach.

The Ireland Wood Social club has recently been shut down, with the site currently up for let. This is the closure of the second public house in the last 5 years for the area. The closure of the Ireland Wood Social club caused upset for many of the local residents as it was a favorite destination for the bingo players of the area, whilst also providing holiday related entertainment from New Year's Eve parties to Halloween parties.

Transport

The main bus service serving Ireland Wood is the Sky Line (6), linking the area with Holt Park, Horsforth railway station, Headingley and Leeds city centre. The Pink Line (19 & 19A) also comes through the area linking Ireland Wood with Tinshill, Kirkstall, Burley and Leeds city centre. The Brown Line (1) links Ireland Wood with Holt Park, Hyde Park, Leeds city centre, Beeston and Hunslet.^[3]^[4]^[5]

New health centre

The Ireland Wood Surgery was established around the end of 2012, following the destruction of the derelict site of the Wise Owl. This new doctors surgery has provided on point health care and assistance to the local residents.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 2/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.