Holme Wood is situated off Wakefield Road in the south-east of the City of Bradford and borders Tyersal. It is part of Tong ward. The estate is managed by Incommunities and Bradford Council. It is also one of the largest former council estates in Europe. 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.
History
A small hamlet named Holme Shaw existed on Ned Lane, west of a forest called Holme Wood. Later it was simply known as Holme and was part of the civil parish of Tong. It is now part of Tong ward. The present housing estate between Dudley Hill and Ned Lane was built in the 1950s. 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. 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. 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 by Comic Relief and has involved partnerships with Bradford City football club and Bradford Bulls rugby league club.
Population
Pockets of Holme Wood are in the top 5% and 1% of the Governments Index of Deprivation. Voluntary sector groups, churches and schools work tirelessly to address the issues of poverty and deprivation on this 1950s housing estate. The ethnic origin of most of the population of the estate is white British; however, the number of residents belonging to ethnic minority groups has increased over recent years. 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.
This Holme, unlike other places with the same name, is not from Old Norse holmr but may be from Old Englishholegn.. Residents will refer to it as Holmewood.
