Moving near castleford

[SquiresA]

Hi I’m looking for help, my hubby is relocating his job from Bedfordshire to castleford, we are hoping to have as little mortgage as poss as I really
Need to focus on my health, I have no idea of the areas and he doesn’t want to travel more than 40 mins, we have a nine year old
Girl and 18 year old
Girl, looking up
To £225k max but smaller the better really, any suggestions please, on areas. We are in a small village with little
Amenities at present therefore I would
Prefer a larger village or market town, thank
You

You'll get lots of posts telling you how awful Castleford (and nearby Pontefract is) and that you should live in Horsforth or Chapel Allterton because that's where all good Mumsnetters must live if located in the Leeds Bradford conurbation, but that won't be affordable on your budget, and is quite a way from Castleford, so traffic will be awful.

I don't know much about Castleford or Pontefract and am sure there are perfectly pleasant areas close by. But I would suggest Garforth, the Woodlesford, Rothwell or Oulton areas or even around Morley - travel is usually OK unless something bad happens on the M62.

Quite a few 3 beds and the occasional 4 bed in Garforth or Morley on your budget. Likewise for Rothwell and surrounding area.

Search postcodes LS25, LS27 or LS26 respectively. Some areas of LS15 are also nice, but that's more mixed.

However, if you're buying in Garforth or Rothwell area, look at HS2 issues carefully, as if it is built, some are in the zone which may either be demolished or close to the proposed line, although they are now suggesting it might never get here, but it's likely to blight house buying issues for years to come due to the uncertainty.

I work in Castleford (well not at the moment). I spent many years in Bedfordshire and found some of the local area a shock when I first moved up. If you want somwhere bigger than a village but good for family life look at areas of Wakefield like Sandal. Pontefract is much nicer than Castleford but still fairly small. There are some lovely houses locally, but choosing the right area for you is important. Would you think about renting for a while to get to know the area?

P.s. I wouldn't personally live anywhere that meant I had to commute to Cas via the M62. It's a nightmare!

Bedfordshire to Castleford - he doesn't work in pharma does he? OK so we did the same move broadly. My phone battery is dying so I'll be quick. No, I wouldn't recommend Castleford or Ponte. Or Leeds tbh. Fortunately Cas is very well connected and easy to get to if you drive. I would base it on schools /colleges for your eldest. I will try to remember to pm you!

Sherburn in Elmet/South Milford area is only about 10-15 minutes from Castleford and there are some lovely villages around there of all sizes. I'm not sure how long the commute would be in rush hour, (obviously longer but hopefully not too long).

I've worked in Cas for 15 years. Personally i wouldn't live in or very near it. Pontefract not much better although there are smaller villages Normanton way that might be ok.
Also would avoid anywhere that means a commute on the M62 as previously stated its generally a nightmare!!
Lots of nice newbuild in Sherburn in Elmet and its a very easy drive.
Lots of smaller villages like South Milford or Burton Salmon around depending on what you are after
Garforth also nice. Rothwell is a reasonable part of Leeds, also Woodlesford that way out.

No way I would go as far out as Horsforth or Chapel Allerton as it would give you a nightmare commute (also personally find them very overrated!)

IamChipmunk I totally agree re: Chapel Allerton and Horsforth. They're not worth living that far out for.

SquiresA I've just realised you said you would consider a large village. What type of amenities are you looking for? A lot of people who work in Cas but who aren't 'local' live in Badsworth, Ackworth, Darrington, etc. but they might be too small. It depends what your top priorities are

I would
Like a doctors surgery, some shops a public house and school close by if possible. Or at least 30
Mins walking distance prefererred. On line I have
Looked at selby and villages near plus ossett and rossington, I will drive up at look at areas but need to know if I should
Rule these out. Thank you

It really is village by village and school by school. You need to do a lot of research. There are beautiful stone villages and 1950s mining towns. Lots of new builds with a lot more planned.

You also dip in and out of Leeds, Wakefield and North Yorkshire LAs (and York and Doncaster a bit further out).

Woodlesford is the poshest bit of Leeds that is nearby (someone mentioned it earlier)

Does the 9 year old play rugby?

No she’s a football fan and her dad has all the training badges

You could try Ackworth, Methley, Oulton, Garforth etc. For goodness sake don't go for Rossington , near Doncaster. It is split by a railway line and 1 side is OK, but very estate oriented, the other half is like Beirut. Places south of Doncaster, such as Bawtry and Tickhill will be out of your budget, and also, the A1 between Doncaster and Castleford is a nightmare. I originally came from Castleford but it is a shift hole and would never return.

Rothwell, Lofthouse, Carlton and Robin Hood (WF3) have everything you want and not too far to Castleford. The schools are good, there are good public transport links to Leeds and Wakefield and it feels quite countryside despite being so close to two cities.

Pontefract isn’t as bad as Cas. Ackworth is close to Pontefract but it’s way more expensive. My DH is from South Milford which is nice, about a 15 min drive from cas. I wouldn’t live in Castleford if you paid me fwiw, it’s awful. Avoid Airedale at all costs too.

Ackworth or Methley Village would be doable for Cas Vegas

@TrixyTed

Rothwell, Lofthouse, Carlton and Robin Hood (WF3) have everything you want and not too far to Castleford. The schools are good, there are good public transport links to Leeds and Wakefield and it feels quite countryside despite being so close to two cities.

Carlton is rhubarb country. You would not believe what rhubarb can be made into.

I'd never seen rhubarb lying at the side of the road until I moved here!

I live in castleford and dont see what all the fuss is about ive lived in some right dumps (burnley, salford) and castleford is nowhere near as rough and theres some really nice period properties going cheap, can easy get a 3bed with parling and garden well under 150. You're close to countryside walks, nice cycle paths down the river, all your shops you might ever need, Xscape, plenty of employment options and of course super well connected to the motorways and leeds for more. I used to live a naice very rural life but no complaints!

It is a massive area. I would start with secondary schools and map out their catchments. The edge schools are probably Tadcaster Grammar, Selby High and even Campsmount, Rodillian, Morley, Trinity and Cathedral and everything that falls within that geographic space.