Beckhill (or Beck Hill) is a small council estate in the

Meanwood Meanwood is a suburb and former village in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits in the Moortown ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Origins and history The name Meanwood goes back ...

area of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England. It has received negative local publicity in the past, but is now the subject of

urban regeneration Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

. The area is situated south of Stainbeck Road and north of Potternewton Lane. To the east is the

Miles Hill Miles Hill is a district in Leeds. It is about north of Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England and is situated between Meanwood and Chapel Allerton next to Beckhill, Beck Hill. The district is located in the Chapel Allerton (ward), Chapel ...

Estate. Beckhill falls within the Chapel Allerton ward of

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...

Location

The area was built in the 1970s and consists mainly of brick built terrace houses. The estate had a small

newsagents A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...

on Beckhill Approach which was demolished in 2014. There is only one entrance to the estate via car, from Stainbeck Road, however there are

ginnel A ginnel is a word in various Scottish and northern English dialects describing a fenced or walled alley between residential buildings that provides a pedestrian shortcut to nearby streets.primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

was on Beckhill Approach, and had 170 pupils. The 2004 and 2007 league tables showed a challenging situation. The school was closed in 2007, and demolished in 2008. At the same time the estate children's play area in the former school grounds was closed due to maintenance costs. Beckhill is part of the intake area for St Urban's Catholic primary school. Miles Hill primary was recently replaced by the new Mill Field primary school on

Potternewton Potternewton also Potter Newton is a suburb and parish between Chapeltown and Chapel Allerton in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is in the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council. Potternewton is bounded by Scott Hall Road ...

Mount, which led to concerns over the road crossing in Potternewton Lane, as pupils now had to walk from their estates to the new school. However, this appears to be resolved by the addition of new zebra crossings.

History

Past

In 2004 there was a problem with gang behaviour in this and other estates, and in 2006 it was reported that children were committing burglaries. There used to be a public house called the Hilltop in Beckhill Grove but it was demolished in 2007, making space for a planned local regeneration development by East North East Homes Leeds. In July 2007 authorisation was given to demolish a large number of properties on Beckhill Approach and Beckhill Garth, to make way for new family housing. Beckhill became the focus of negative press attention in December 2008, following the 'Beckhill Stabbing'. As of 2014, knife crime continued to be a problem on the estate.

Present and future

Since 2007, the Beckhill Implementation Group (BIG) received funding from the NHS for activities to promote health and wellbeing on the estate. BIG won an Effective Partnership Working Award on 18 March 2009. Groundwork Leeds is still involved in improvement of this environment. In 2007 the average value of a house on Beckhill Chase was approximately half that of the average house in Leeds, and at least one of those houses was built in 1968. In Beckhill Grove there are 39 homes, built about the same time. There is an active Beckhill Tenants and Residents' Association. £10,000 funding was agreed by

(North East Inner

Area Committee Many large local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees or area boards, which involve local people and organisations in decisions affecting council spending within their area. They cover a geographical are ...

) in 2008 for a study into the feasibility of providing a new

community centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

for Beckhill. The Three Churches Project focuses on this and other nearby estates. In 2008 the group completed a four-month project with people from estates including Beckhill, and performed a play based on

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

The Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first ten ...

''. New

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

is planned for the estate, as a second phase of Leeds City Council's intention to build 80 properties across three sites in Leeds. Houses on the estate around Beckhill Approach were demolished in 2012 and the estate's newsagent was demolished in 2014.

Location

History

Past

Present and future

References

External links