Cottingley is an urban area in the south-west of Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Most of Cottingley is a 1960s council estate. The two tower blocks situated on a hill at the centre of the estate are Leeds's tallest flats. In the 1980s, these were in a poor condition, and had particular problems with squatters

Squatting

Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....

. At the end of the decade, they were refurbished and their condition was improved.

Cottingley railway station

Cottingley railway station

Cottingley railway station serves the Cottingley area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It lies south west of Leeds on the Huddersfield Line. The station was opened in May 1988 with financial assistance from West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and is managed by Northern Rail, who...

 serves the area. It is situated on the Leeds to Huddersfield line

Huddersfield Line

The Huddersfield Line is the name given to one of the busiest rail services on the West Yorkshire MetroTrain network in northern England. Local services are operated by Northern Rail with longer distance services operated by TransPennine Express...

 and was opened in 1988.

The Cottingley estate was built in the 1970s, replacing an estate of temporary prefabricated housing that had previously been on the site. The estate was built on 'New Town Principles' (similar to Bransholme

Bransholme

Bransholme is an area and a housing estate on the north-eastern side of Kingston upon Hull, England. The name Bransholme comes from an old Scandinavian word meaning Brand's water meadow ....

 in Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

), the estate is set around a series of cul de sacs, segregating large volumes of traffic from housing and pedestrians. This method of building has often been criticised as creating a 'rabbit warren', impractical for the local police. Although on larger estates of similar style this causes a problem, the effects on Cottingley have been minimal.

One criticism of Cottingley is its lack of local amenities. However the nearby town of Morley

Morley, West Yorkshire

Morley is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately south-west of Leeds city centre. Together with Drighlington, Gildersome, Churwell, Tingley and East/West Ardsley, the town had a population of 47,579 in...

 and the White Rose Centre

White Rose Centre

The White Rose Centre is a shopping centre in the Churwell area of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It spans two floors and is linked to the M621 motorway. It takes its name from the White Rose of York, the traditional symbol of Yorkshire. The Upper Level houses the Centre's 'Upper...

provide supermarkets, pubs and other entertainments.

The local school is Cottingley Primary School.