| Holme Wood | |
|---|---|
 Flats on Dane Court Road | |
  Holme Wood Location withinWest Yorkshire | |
| OS grid reference | SE189313 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRADFORD |
| Postcode district | BD4 |
| Dialling code | 01274 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| 53°46′41″N1°42′43″W / 53.778°N 1.712°W /53.778; -1.712 | |
Holme Wood orHolmewood is ahousing estate inBradford,West Yorkshire,England.
Holme Wood is situated off Wakefield Road in the south-east of theCity of Bradford and bordersTyersal. It is part ofTong ward. The estate is managed by Incommunities andBradford Council. In 1996, it was one of the largest council-housing estates inWest Yorkshire.[1] Most of it consists of low-rise buildings, there are only two tall blocks of flats, namely Ogden House and Kelvin House on Dane Court Road.[2] The estate is rambling; however, there are many pleasant green areas dotted around the estate, among them Valley Natural Play Park along the upper course of Holme Beck and Pit Hill Park at the boundary to the nearby village of Tong in the green belt.
A small hamlet namedHolme Shaw existed on Ned Lane, west of a forest calledHolme Wood.[3] Later it was simply known asHolme[4][5] and was part of the civil parish of Tong.[6] It is now part of Tong ward.[7] The etymology ofHolme Shaw was identified byAlbert Hugh Smith asOld Englishholegn ('holly-tree') andsceaga ('copse');Holme Wood means the same.[8] Residents refer to it as Holmewood (all one word).
The present housing estate between Dudley Hill and Ned Lane was built in the 1950s, officially opening in 1957.[9] The history of the estate in the twentieth century was characterised by theBradford Telegraph and Argus as beginning as a 'pioneering housing estate', becoming 'a hot-bed of crime' around the 1980s, but undergoing 'a full regeneration programme' in the 1990s.[9]
In September 2016, it was reported that several taxi companies had listed the estate as a 'no-go' area, due to anti-social attacks being carried out on drivers throughout 2016. Some incidents left drivers with black eyes, while others were subjected to being harassed for money after their windows were smashed in.[10]
Subsequent to the taxi boycott, concerted efforts by Bradford South policing district, and by youth workers, have claimed some success in reducing anti-social behaviour on the estate. Some work has been funded byComic Relief and has involved partnerships withBradford City football club andBradford Bulls rugby league club.[11]
Pockets of Holme Wood are in the top 5% and 1% of the Governments Index of Deprivation (2015).[12] The ethnic origin of vast majority of the population of the estate isWhite British; however, the number of residents belonging to ethnic minority groups has increased over recent years especially theBritish Pakistani community. Of the residents of Tong Ward, to which Holme Wood belongs, 82.8% were born in the United Kingdom, 0.4% in the Republic of Ireland, 3.1% in other EU countries, and 13.6% outside the EU.[13]
Holme Wood is the birthplace of actressesSophie McShera[14] andJennifer Metcalfe.[15]
Holme Wood is the setting of much of the 2021 filmAli & Ava.[16]
