Colton, Leeds

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Colton is a district of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, situated between Cross Gates to the north, Halton and Halton Moor to the west, Whitkirk to the north-west, and Austhorpe to the north-east.

The name derived from its past as a coal mining area, Col meaning coal, and ton meaning town, so Colton literally means Coal Town. It was originally called Colton Old Village, though since the 1970s, the area has succumbed to the rapid urbanisation of Leeds and is now a suburb, referred to simply as Colton. The area's housing ranges from detached houses, semi-detached houses, and terraced houses.

Colton once suffered social problems, with high rates of crime (some violent) and anti-social behavior [1], though now seems to be on the mend. The area has a cricket club with a football pitch, a cricket pitch and 2 tennis courts, along with a large bar area, and in the mid-1990s, Colton Retail Park was opened, and more recently Colton Mill, a large business/industrial estate, was opened in the east of the area. It is also close to the A63 dual carriageway and M1 motorway.

Gypsies have previously been spotted in Colton, though are now said to have left the area, due to police intervention [2].

[edit] Comparison

Colton lies in the LS15 postcode area. Here is a population breakdown of the postcode area in comparison with the UK population.

Category	LS15	UK average
Population density (people / sq mi)	43.2	24.9
Gender split (females / male)	1.05	1.05
Average commute	6.1 miles	8.73 miles
Average age	38	39
Home ownership	16%	16.9%
Student population	2.4%	4.4%
People in good health	69%	69%