Claremonts

Character of the area

Distinctive stone terraces of three to eighteen houses predominate in this area, many of them listed. The land slopes down to Meanwood Beck to the east, and the area is defined by the rising ground on the south. Many homes are in long-term family owner-occupation, with small concentrations of students and professional couples. Most are of two or three storeys with gardens which vary considerably in size, but many contain mature trees, original garden walls, coping stones, and gateways. It is an area not of individual grand houses but of almost intimate small-scale variety.
The Groves, Oakfield Terrace and especially the green corridors of Claremont Road and the unmade Claremont Drive. The tranquillity of the inner part is not shared by the spaces occupied by roads, where footways are narrow and there is little room for cycling. Shaw Lane, Grove Lane and Monk Bridge Road, both busy through routes, and the main junctions are difficult for pedestrians and drivers alike and this detracts from the character of those areas.
The whole area is included in the Far Headingley Conservation Area, the boundary of which was recently extended to encompass not just the stone built area, but also the decoratively brick-built Brookfield Terrace, overlooking Meanwood Beck, which has the same characteristics of a long terrace with a garden frontage as its more elaborately stone-built neighbour at Oakfield Terrace. To its west, the Heddons are three rows of largely unaltered brick terraces with stone sett paved streets.

Key Positive Characteristics
• Stone and brick terraces and houses of some distinction with well planted gardens
• A peaceful and well landscaped core area
• Stone and brick boundary walls and stone gateposts
• Stone flag pavements and stone kerbs
• Mature trees

Extracted from Far Headingley, Weetwood & West Park Neighbourhood Design Statement, Leeds City Council, 2ed, 2014.  The whole document is available online at <http://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/FH%20NDS%20Adoption%20Version.pdf>

See also, Listed Buildings. For more on the area, see Far Headingley.