Is Pontefract a decent place to live?

Is Pontefract a decent place to live?

Author
Discussion

Defcon5

6,183 posts

191 months

Monday 22nd December 2014
quotequote all
Christ no

I'd live there, but only if I could put both cars on the drive.

Shnozz

27,473 posts

271 months

Monday 22nd December 2014
quotequote all
sat1983 said:
Shnozz said:
Have you looked around the Robin Hood area? I have a mate that lives there and it seems good value for money and easy access to Leeds centre.
Where is that?
Towards Rothwell. Only takes me 7 - 8 mins outside of rush hour if I pop over their house from Leeds city centre.

The other place I think looks reasonable value and has a rail station straight to town is Church Fenton. No idea what living there is like though and I believe it's soon to be hit with the HS2 line..

Rogue86

2,008 posts

145 months

Monday 22nd December 2014
quotequote all
sat1983 said:
Thing is though how rough? I mean the areas in leeds we've seen (Gipton, Harehills, Seacroft) are really bad. I'm sure nothing in Pontefract is anywhere in that league surely?
Youd be surprised, I remember a lot of trouble with race riots in the Barracks and low-level drugs is a fairly common problem across the town. Seems to have calmed down a lot over the last few years generally but Ponty had a reputation a few years ago!

As it turns out, that postcode is round the corner from a house we went to view last year. Looked a mix bag of council estates round there but I wouldnt have considered it rough. Got a few friends who still live up there and dont seem to get any bother.

sat1983

Original Poster:

1,252 posts

184 months

Monday 22nd December 2014
quotequote all
Good to know. We have to compromise- we are first time buyers and are just looking for somewhere safe with an easy commute to Leeds. The house we've seen is nice too!

julianm

1,535 posts

201 months

Tuesday 23rd December 2014
quotequote all
It`s not quite the same area but if I was younger & had to work in central Leeds I`d think carefully about Micklefield, a few miles North - very regular cheap trains to the city & a good selection of new & more traditional homes. Not expensive. Access to the North Yorkshire countryside is very quick. Have a drive round on Google Earth.

Rogue86

2,008 posts

145 months

Tuesday 23rd December 2014
quotequote all
sat1983 said:
Good to know. We have to compromise- we are first time buyers and are just looking for somewhere safe with an easy commute to Leeds. The house we've seen is nice too!
Exactly the same reasons we were looking there. We ended up with a new-build between Castleford and Featherstone. I know our site is all sold up but they've started flattening land over the road on the old pit-stacks to build a large(ish) housing estate, might be worth considering if you can wait. There's also a site around the corner, not sure whether they're all gone or not.

mph1977

12,467 posts

168 months

Tuesday 23rd December 2014
quotequote all
Rogue86 said:
Where abouts in Ponte? Same as anywhere really, there are some really nice parts and others that are dog-rough. If you're near the countryside I would guess you're on the Larkshill/Ackworth/Carelton end which is one of the nicer parts.
i think that is the answer to the question , for most of the WMDC / five towns area the question has to be clarified with where and also based on the asker's views ...

sat1983

Original Poster:

1,252 posts

184 months

Tuesday 23rd December 2014
quotequote all
Seems that unlike Leeds in isn't necessarily down to an area- more a street... Apart from certain town centre areas (Chequers it seems) nothing I have seen on the outskirts frightens me at all. When you've seen certain parts of Leeds/Sheffield a tiny council area such at this one:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.707651,-1.289928...

isn't going to worry us!

The only thing worrying me ( and this would be anywhere) is that my other half has to walk to the train station every day as we work different hours.

Would you confidently let your other half do this walk:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Pontefract+WF8+2...

Rogue86

2,008 posts

145 months

Tuesday 23rd December 2014
quotequote all
Should be fine to be honest, that building on the corner (before the left turn onto Mill Dam lane) is a gym and the doors are usually open, so usually a fair amount of normal folk knocking about around it at most times of the day. Once you're onto Ferrybridge Rd there's never really anyone other than dog-walkers about but plenty of traffic so it's not isolated as such. Mill Dam lane itself used to have groups of scrote-ish kids hanging around but don't know what it's like now. I go to the Shell station round there so I'll make sure to use that route next time I go and let you know if I see anything out of the ordinary.

Definitely not rough, occasional undesirables but plenty of decent people about as well and it's the sort of town where people would intervene if anything amiss happened. I drink in a pub around the corner from that gym and I've never known any bother there.

Greensleeves

1,235 posts

203 months

Wednesday 24th December 2014
quotequote all
I wouldn't sing praises for South Elmsall but it ticks all your boxes. moorthorpe and Elmsall stations have trains to Leeds.

Greensleeves

1,235 posts

203 months

Wednesday 24th December 2014
quotequote all
I wouldn't sing praises for South Elmsall but it ticks all your boxes. moorthorpe and Elmsall stations have trains to Leeds.

Defcon5

6,183 posts

191 months

Wednesday 24th December 2014
quotequote all
I wouldn't live around there tbh.


sat1983

Original Poster:

1,252 posts

184 months

Wednesday 24th December 2014
quotequote all
Defcon5 said:
I wouldn't live around there tbh.
Are we still talking about Pontefract?

Defcon5

6,183 posts

191 months

Wednesday 24th December 2014
quotequote all
sat1983 said:
Are we still talking about Pontefract?
No south elmasall area


sat1983

Original Poster:

1,252 posts

184 months

Wednesday 24th December 2014
quotequote all
Noticed the huge power station not far away- not brilliant is it!

Phil Dicky

7,162 posts

263 months

Wednesday 24th December 2014
quotequote all
What's wrong with Wakefield...get yourself to Horbury, top place to live, good boozers and restaurants , good schools and decent communing

Defcon5

6,183 posts

191 months

Wednesday 24th December 2014
quotequote all
sat1983 said:
Noticed the huge power station not far away- not brilliant is it!
Wouldn't bother me tbh - then again it's always been there for me and it's just part of the skyline.

Evoluzione

10,345 posts

243 months

Wednesday 24th December 2014
quotequote all
Plus you get to tell people you live in Ponte Carlo.
Which is near Cas Vegas of course.

Ilovejapcrap

3,281 posts

112 months

Wednesday 24th December 2014
quotequote all
sat1983 said:
Thing is though how rough? I mean the areas in leeds we've seen (Gipton, Harehills, Seacroft) are really bad. I'm sure nothing in Pontefract is anywhere in that league surely?
I've worked ponty cast leeds selby goole etc for last 13 yrs.

I sometimes have to work / get called out at in early hour ( work for utilities)

I would not live in leeds personally unless I had mega money, ponty is so so

You don't want idiots live in sticks even if you get idiots there are less of them as less people ☺️

Greensleeves

1,235 posts

203 months

Thursday 25th December 2014
quotequote all
Defcon5 said:
I wouldn't live around there tbh.
We wouldn't want you!