Menston is part Wharfedale Ward (formerly Rombalds Ward) on Bradford Council. It lies between Burley in Wharfedale (also part of Wharfedale Ward and Bradford District) and Guiseley (part of Leeds District). The boundary is blurred along Bradford Road, where the three settlements connect with no clear division. Whilst Bradford Road marks much of the boundary with Leeds, Menston also extends part of the way along West Chevin Road towards Otley, whilst High Royds, a former hospital and now a new housing estate, sits on the Menston side of the road but forms part of Leeds. A number of houses opposite Leeds City Council’s Ellar Ghyll recycling centre mark the end of Menston going toward Otley on the main road.
Menston also benefits from a strong sense of community and are great places to live and work. They lie between Ilkley and Otley, around 12-14 miles from Leeds and Bradford.
Like most villages in Wharfedale, Menston has been subject to steady growth in recent decades, which it likely to shortly be dwarfed by two new developments totalling several hundred houses on green field sites along Bingley Road and Derry Hill. Despite appalling access constraints and consequent disruption and congestion, the sites were recommended for development under the recent Labour government, over the objections of the local community, ward councillors, and Bradford Council.
Despite this setback, Menston remains a pleasant and attractive community in which to live and work, with some excellent facilities and local shops.
Menston has:
- A number of shops and retailers
- Several pubs, restaurants and take-aways
- A recently part-refurbished Community Building (Kirklands Community Centre)
- A number of other community facilities, including a new Children’s Centre
- An exceptional park incorporating children’s play areas
- An active local community with a Parish Council and Residents Association, and a wide range of community groups
- A nature reserve maintained by volunteers (Sun Lane nature reserve)
- A railway station with connections to Leeds, Bradford and Ilkley
- A range of bus services
- A small amount of social housing and sheltered accommodation
- A moorland setting, with access over the Moor towards Baildon
Local matters are covered by two local newspapers, the Ilkley Gazette and Wharfedale Observer – with some coverage on their sister-paper the Telegraph and Argus. Local matters are also covered to a lesser extent in the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post, the Post’s free weekly, the Wharfe Valley Times.
More information about Menston can be found here:
