'£20m investment will be wonderful - if we spend it wisely'

A £20m investment in a Leeds suburb will be "absolutely wonderful" for the area - as long as the funding is "spent wisely", according to residents.

Seacroft North and Monkswood will receive the cash over the next 10 years as part of the government's Pride in Place programme, aimed at making long-term improvements.

Elliott Moon, who grew up in Seacroft and works at Chapel FM Arts Centre, says the area "has always been a little bit rough and tumble, but it has never felt unwelcoming".

"There are a lot of organisations already here doing great work, but just having that extra injection of cash will mean they can do even more," he says.

The investment is to be spent according to local priorities and led by a neighbourhood board.

Leeds City Council says the board will be representative of the local area.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions, 24% of people in the Killingbeck and Seacroft ward were claiming Universal Credit in 2025, because they were unemployed.

Meanwhile, 43.2% of homes in the ward were in the social rented sector compared with 17.1% for the wider Leeds area.

There were 4,523 crimes recorded in the ward in the last year.

The Rev Anne Russell, Team Rector of Seacroft Parish, believes there is more to the community than the numbers.

"I think we always have to see beyond the statistics of highest rates in violence against women, lots of drug use, lots of housing crises," she says.

"Actually it is a really strong and vibrant community with really strong people who are really resilient, you know, they have been through a lot.

"We just want some groups, some individuals to say, actually, we are going to look after you for the future."

Seacroft North and Monkswood - which sits within the ward - consists of about 2,780 households with a total population of about 5,970.

Local resident Wayne, 59, wants the funding to go towards tackling crime.

Speaking while walking his dog in Rein Park, he says: "It is the drugs mainly, especially overnight, a lot of old people will not even go to the shop.

"Especially like the Bogart Hill area, where the shops are, usually they congregate.

"You need police presence."

Under Pride in Place, the government says communities can spend the money on "what matters most to them - from improvements to pavements and high streets to investing in culture and green spaces".

According to Leeds City Council, Pride in Place projects could include but are not limited to:

• Improvements to roads and pavements
• Upgrades to parks and green spaces
• Acquisition of community assets
• Support for local employment and skills
• A wide range of community projects shaped by local priorities.

As well as Seacroft, Holme Wood in Bradford, Mixenden in Halifax and Featherstone in Wakefield are all set to get £20m.

Lindsey Marsden lives near Rein Park, which has seen significant improvement in recent years.

She says the area is "brilliant" but more needs to be done for young people.

"I would love to see a youth club," she says.

The 38-year-old is worried about bullying at spaces already established.

"Kids go up there causing trouble and vandalising.

"My little girl would love to go to a youth club but she is scared."

Last year, Seacroft became a stage for some of the city's cultural tensions.

Protests took place outside a hotel housing migrants, while St George flags still fly from lamposts.

Howard Bradley, chief executive at non-profit community group the LS14 Trust, is encouraging everyone to get involved in deciding how the investment will be spent, despite any conflicting viewpoints.

He says: "I hope the legacy is that people will have felt properly part of this process, that the community will feel that their power has helped shape it, that they helped drive this.

"This money is not everything - actually people coming together and working together and making change together is how you have real legacy and sustainability."

Back at Chapel FM, Moon echoes his call.

"We need to make sure we spend it wisely and make sure we use it for the future.

"That this 10 years then leads onto something else.

"For many years, I did not have much pride in this place but there is more and more pride now than ever.

"Being able to get this £20m will inject even more of that pride into this place."

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