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Leeds Live
Leeds Live
National
Jasmine Norden

The safest place to live in Leeds with gated driveways and CCTV on every street

The centre of Leeds can be dangerous at night but out in some of the city's suburbs, the picture is completely different.

Recent data released by police forces has revealed which areas of Leeds reported the least crimes last year - and one suburb in the north east of Leeds topped the list. Wetherby West reported just 212 crimes from February 2021 to January 2022.

There was only one report of robbery within that entire time. The area's crime rate is just 31.8 offences for every 1,000 people, and most reported offences are for antisocial behaviour.

Read more: Pregnant Leeds mum-to-be died from multiple injuries after horror fall on honeymoon as husband accused of murdering her

In contrast, there were 10,626 crimes committed in Leeds city centre in the same period. I headed down to Wetherby West to speak to residents and see what they thought of the news. It is worth pointing out Wetherby West does not include the town centre - rather the residential areas and green space going down towards Linton or west towards Spofforth.

It is a neighbourhood populated with quiet tree-lined roads and a lot of big detached houses with gated driveways. The area is known as a favourite for some local athletes to move to, and on a sunny day in April, it wasn't hard to understand why.

Residents said they felt safe walking by the River Wharfe at all times in Wetherby (LeedsLive)

Margaret, who was out for a walk with her daughter's dog Sally, lives up on the estate of the A661 in Wetherby West, and has done for three years and five months now. She told LeedsLive: "I'm not surprised at all this is the safest part of Leeds. I lived in the centre of Leeds from when I was a student in 1967 until I moved here, and I'm retired now.

"While I was there, I was burgled several times, but I have never had any problems here and I definitely feel safe. People are really nice to each other.

"It's a lovely mixture of people - a lot of retirees like me, but also a growing number of young professionals. I know there have been cars stolen from this estate in the past but that was all years ago before I moved in - since then there's been nothing.

Wetherby West is a very affluent area (LeedsLive)

"People love it and stay for life, maybe because of the feeling of safety. I have friends here who have lived in the area for decades.

"When I chose to move here I did look at crime statistics and that was part of my decision to move here. It's been great, it even brought my car insurance down. I love Leeds centre but I love it here too."

After speaking to Margaret, I headed down to the part of Wetherby West off Linton Road that takes walkers down by the River Wharfe. It's an easy hundred metres from the street to a big expanse of green space.

There, Michael Cornwell was enjoying sitting in the sun in his favourite spot. He said: "It's nice to hear we're living in a safe area. The people who live here are nice and the houses are expensive, so it doesn't surprise me. Compared to a lot of Leeds this is a very affluent area.

Wetherby West residents like Michael Cornwell weren't at all surprised the neighbourhood didn't have much crime last year (LeedsLive)

"I came here 40 years ago and it's been great. I came for work and have retired here since.

"Despite it being out of the way it's actually very central between Leeds, York and Harrogate and residents have everything they need. I have heard of some burglaries happening here but in general we're very fortunate.

"They are planning to develop a lot of this area though - there are hundreds of houses being built nearby, so it might not be so peaceful for much longer."

Wetherby West is ranked number 165 out of all 6,857 middle super output areas in the UK for safety. As per the the 2019 Indices of Multiple Deprivation, much of the western parts of Wetherby are within the 10 per cent least deprived in the country.

It's an area where a lot of people have plentiful resources to spend on gated driveways, security cameras, and things to keep their kids occupied. It has good amenities too - walking just five minutes into the centre of Wetherby provides a range of shops and eateries, as well a leisure centre with a swimming pool.

Pontefract couple Julie and Richard are regularly in Wetherby West for a walk (LeedsLive)

Couple Julie and Richard live in Pontefract but have been heading over to this part of Wetherby for years to hike. "It's a lovely area, and a great place for a walk", Julie said.

"There's always lots of people walking around here, mostly families and kids on bikes. Everyone seems lovely. Even the dogs seem less aggressive around here! Everyone around here helps you out if you get lost."

Richard added: "Have you seen some of the houses around here? I reckon a lot of the older kids around here tend to be more likely to be kept in education.

"Maybe the Wetherby kids are causing trouble somewhere else but we've never seen them causing trouble on these streets."

Michael Flanagan, who was also out walking his dog Winnie, was also not surprised in the slightest he'd chosen a safe area to move to nine years ago.

Michael Flanagan wishes everywhere was as safe as Wetherby West (LeedsLive)

"There's never many young people about here, and definitely not big gangs of them", he said. "There's definitely much less crime than in the centre of Leeds. It's very quiet and lovely here, especially on a night.

"I walk in the dark pretty much every night and always feel safe - that was particularly nice during lockdowns. Everybody with dogs knows each other and always stops to say hello.

"It's got a lovely community feel here, everyone helps each other and I think that makes people feel more safe. There's also pretty good security - most places have CCTV.

"My favourite things about living here during lockdown was that walking around you'd often see Marco Bielsa out for a walk here too most days. He was always so polite and would stop to talk to anyone. We miss him around here.

"It's a lovely area to live in and I wish everywhere was like this."

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