| Kippax | |
Kippax High Street |
|
|
Kippax
Kippax shown within West Yorkshire |
|
| Parish | Kippax |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan borough | City of Leeds |
| Metropolitan county | West Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GARFORTH |
| Postcode district | LS25 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | Elmet |
| List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire | |
Kippax is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the east of the city, near to Garforth and Great Preston.
The name "Kippax" indicates that the village was first established in a heavily wooded area of ash trees.
Kippax was a separate civil parish, in Tadcaster Rural District, until 1939, when it was annexed to Garforth. It re-acquired civil parish status, with a parish council, on 1 April 2004.
The Kippax and Methley ward of Leeds City Council is currently in the UK Parliament constituency of Elmet, which will become Elmet and Rothwell at the next UK general election.[1]
The village's historical roots are survived by the presence of an originally Anglo-Saxon church which underwent significant modification in Norman times.[2] Typically Saxon herring-bone masonry can still be seen in the tower. Despite being an administrative centre for hundreds of years, the population remained small and mostly agricultural until the late 18th century when coal mining began on a relatively small scale in local bell pits. The advent of deeper mining and the discovery of coal seams in Allerton Bywater saw Kippax undergo a rapid expansion in the 19th century into a typical northern mining community. The decline in deep coal mining saw the Allerton Bywater pit finally close in the 1990s despite being in decline since the 1970s.
Without undergoing any real "transformation" Kippax has adjusted to its new status as a commuter village. Its proximity to the A1/M1/M62 means that many residents now commute to Leeds, Castleford, London, Wakefield or York rather than working locally. Its older identity as a "mining community" lives on within the village's older residents. This identity could be lost if Kippax becomes part of the greater urban sprawl of east Leeds. Increased housing development between Kippax and its neighbours (Swillington, Garforth, Great Preston, Allerton Bywater) over the last ten years has eaten away at Kippax's green margins meaning its village status will soon be questionable. Fifteen years ago the high street was a mix of independent butchers, grocers and newsagents along with a small co-op and still has a similar high-street today.
The village has seen a significant rise in house prices. 10 years ago many properties cost more than £60,000, with two bedroomed terrace houses costing £70,000+; now many detached properties are in excess of £300,000.
Contents |
The centre of Kippax has suffered in recent years from the loss of numerous businesses. The village now has no banks and the village branch of Barclays still stands but has closed down and serves as a cash machine only. Many of the shops have closed in Kippax and stand unoccupied while several of the businesses along the high street have been demolished. The Londis shop has closed down, leaving the only grocery to be the Co-op supermarket. One reason for the partial decline of Kippax' village centre is shoppers going to larger centres such as Garforth, Cross Gates and Castleford as well as the building of a retail park in Colton. The other problem is that the independent shops within Kippax have irregular opening hours, and with Kippax being a commuter village many shops miss out on the dominating evening trade as some businesses open early but close before most commuters return to the village for the evening. Despite this the community remains strong, local hero Bryan Higgins walked 100,000 steps around the village and a significant amount of money was raised by the community in aid of the Roy Castle Trust.[3]
| Garforth | ||||
| Swillington | Ledsham | |||
| Kippax, West Yorkshire | ||||
| Allerton Bywater |
|
|||||||||||||||||