Holme Wood
Holme Wood (sometimes written as Holmewood) is a housing estate in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Geography and administration. 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 (2015). 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 . Joyce McCarten MBE. Holme Wood is the birthplace of actresses Sophie McShera and Jennifer Metcalfe. Etymology. This Holme, unlike other places with the same name, is not from Old Norse "holmr" (island) but may be from Old English "holegn" (holly tree).. Residents will refer to it as Holmewood (all one word).