Parish profile
The parish of St Margaret and All Hallows is situated within an urban priority area, about 2 miles from the centre of Leeds, and is part of a rapidly changing urban context.
The population of the parish is very diverse, varying from an elderly population, many of whom have lived in the area for most of their lives, through families with children (many of which are single-parent), including people from Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian backgrounds and an Afro-Caribbean population, to a more transient population of students and graduates who have not yet ‘moved on’.
Many of the local community have good will towards the church, an openness to spiritual exploration, a good deal of folk religion, and immense personal need; they appreciate the continuing presence of the church in the community and turn to it in times of need and celebration.
The parish contains a large amount of red-brick terraced and back-to-back housing, as well as some new housing developments and a few larger houses. Much of this housing is in poor condition: most of it is rented from the Council, housing associations or private landlords. There is some owner-occupied housing.
The parish is situated close to both universities in Leeds, both of which are rapidly expanding. This means, and will increasingly mean, that any available housing in the area is taken up by students, often resulting in a worsening in the condition of the housing, through a combination of neglect by landlords, high demand and the inability of tenants to enforce their rights.
The parish has many of the problems associated with an urban priority area: high unemployment (there are very few sizeable employers in the parish); poor housing; relationship breakdown; few leisure facilities; a high crime rate; and large numbers of people living on low incomes. The parish does, however, contain a cinema, a large number of small shops and restaurants, a few pubs and other facilities. The area is fairly well served by public transport.
The parish provided the land for, and was active in the building of, the Cardigan Centre, a local community, business and resource centre which is used by a wide cross-section of the community. All Hallows has built a community kitchen and café and a community resource area as an extension to the church. The parish also contains the Burley Lodge Centre, a very active and well-used resource, the Woodsley Road Multicultural Centre and the West Leeds Family Service Unit.
There are two primary schools within the parish.
Other denominations, including the Methodists, Roman Catholics and a black-led church, have buildings in or near the parish. Word of Life Church (strongly evangelical) is intending to buy the St Margaret’s church building. There are two mosques and a Hindu temple within the parish.