Ireland Wood is a small residential area in north-west Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north west of Leeds city centre

Leeds City Centre

Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, England. It is within the Leeds Central parliamentary constituency, represented by Hilary Benn as MP since a by-election in 1999...

. The original planning for Ireland Wood began in 1950.

The estate was constructed throughout the 1950s and provided a refuge from the slum

Slum

A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...

 houses in industrial parts of the city which they (along with other similar areas) replaced. The estate is particularly leafy. For a picture of the estate shortly after construction see the Leodis databasehttp://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20031024_58955020

The district is close to Holt Park

Holt Park

Holt Park is a medium-sized low-rise 1970s housing estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately from the Leeds city centre situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, and is at the edge of the Leeds metropolitan urban fringe, bordering the green belt...

, Cookridge

Cookridge

Cookridge is a suburb of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a mixture of suburban, twentieth-century private housing and a very small amount of council housing bordering Tinshill. It is in the Adel and Wharfedale ward of City of Leeds metropolitan district, and the Leeds North West...

 Tinshill

Tinshill

Tinshill is a district of Leeds, 4 miles north of Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Horsforth and Cookridge. When the estate was planned in the 1940s it was originally known as the 'Cookridge Tower Estate'. The estate predated surrounding estates such as...

 and also close to the Leeds Ring Road

Leeds Outer Ring Road

The Leeds Outer Ring Road is a main road that runs around most of the perimeter of the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The ring road is approximately long and consists of single and dual carriageways....

.

The area's main thoroughfare is the Otley Old Road. The primary school is Iveson House. Moor Grange

Moor Grange

Moor Grange Estate is a housing estate in the West Park area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which was built in the 1950s on reclaimed farmland. Work on the Moor Grange Estate began in 1955. It was originally owned by the local council, and was leased by the council to tenants as a council...

 school was on Parkstone Avenue but has been demolished and replaced by a HM Revenue and Customs office. A pub called The Wise Owl was at the top of Otley Old Road but has since been knocked down. A row of shops is at the top of Iveson Drive.

Housing

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 high rise flats, Beever's Court, situated on Iveson Approach. Most housing in the area is sort of a yellow in colour, all though as many houses in the area have since been bought by their residents, some owners have painted their houses white. Most housing on the estate comprises two and three bedroomed bedroomed semi-detached properties.Council housing on nearby estates such as Tinshill and Moor Grange is brick built as opposed to being prefabricated and so generally fetches a higher price on the property market.

Amenities

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 local delivery office on Iveson Approach.
The New Ireland Wood Social Club on Iveson Drive has been refurbished no doubt as a replacement of the Wise Owl pub.

Transport

The main bus service serving Ireland Wood is the Sky Line (6), linking the area with Holt Park

Holt Park

Holt Park is a medium-sized low-rise 1970s housing estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately from the Leeds city centre situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, and is at the edge of the Leeds metropolitan urban fringe, bordering the green belt...

, Horsforth railway station

Horsforth railway station

Horsforth railway station is a railway station in West Yorkshire, England. It is on the Harrogate Line north west of Leeds station and the final stop in the Metro regulated area towards Harrogate...

, Headingley

Headingley

Headingley is a suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road...

 and Leeds city centre

Leeds City Centre

Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, England. It is within the Leeds Central parliamentary constituency, represented by Hilary Benn as MP since a by-election in 1999...

. The Pink Line (19 & 19A) also comes through the area linking Ireland Wood with Tinshill

Tinshill

Tinshill is a district of Leeds, 4 miles north of Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Horsforth and Cookridge. When the estate was planned in the 1940s it was originally known as the 'Cookridge Tower Estate'. The estate predated surrounding estates such as...

, Kirkstall

Kirkstall

Kirkstall is a suburb of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the eastern side of the River Aire. To the west is Bramley, to the east is Headingley and to the north is West Park. Kirkstall is around from the city centre and is close to the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan...

, Burley

Burley

- Place names :* Places in England:** Burley, Hampshire** Burley, Leeds** Burley, Rutland** Burley, Shropshire** Burley in Wharfedale, West Yorkshire, England* Places in the United States:** Burley, Idaho** Burley Manor, listed on the NRHP in Maryland...

 and Leeds city centre

Leeds City Centre

Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, England. It is within the Leeds Central parliamentary constituency, represented by Hilary Benn as MP since a by-election in 1999...

. The Brown Line (1) links Ireland Wood with Holt Park

Holt Park

Holt Park is a medium-sized low-rise 1970s housing estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately from the Leeds city centre situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, and is at the edge of the Leeds metropolitan urban fringe, bordering the green belt...

, Hyde Park

Hyde Park, Leeds

Hyde Park is an inner-city area of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, situated between the University of Leeds and Headingley.It is mainly in the Hyde Park & Woodhouse ward, though some areas of what is often considered to be Hyde Park lie within the Headingley Ward . The boundary is...

, Leeds city centre

Leeds City Centre

Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, England. It is within the Leeds Central parliamentary constituency, represented by Hilary Benn as MP since a by-election in 1999...

, Beeston

Beeston, Leeds

Beeston is a suburb Leeds, West Yorkshire, England located about 2 miles south of the city centre. The area is separated from surrounding areas to the north, east and west by the M621 motorway....

 and Hunslet

Hunslet

Hunslet is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is south east of the city centre and has an industrial past.Hunslet had many engineering companies based in the district, such as John Fowler & Co...

.

New health centre

Plans for the proposed building of a new health centre in Ireland Wood which caused significant controversy in the area, were finally passed. The plans involved the demolition of the Wise Owl public house, which in itself sparked controversy. At the time of this latest editing the new health centre is at least halfway to completion.