Greengates

Greengates is a small suburban area in the north-east of the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, in England. The area is bordered by Idle and Thackley to the north-west, and the large council estate known as Thorpe Edge to the west. To the south of Greengates is Ravenscliffe housing estate with the village of Eccleshill beyond that. The village of Apperley Bridge lies to the north. To the east in the Leeds Metropolitan District is the village of Calverley.HistoryTo the west of Greengates is Albion Mills a historic textile mill, destroyed by fire on 10 March 1911 but rebuilt In 1931 the Bradford trolleybus routes were extended from Idle to Greengates with the service running along Albion Road and Leeds Road.In 1928 a purpose built 595 seat cinema 'Greengates Cinema' was constructed on New Line. This closed in 1959 and is now an Asda supermarket.GovernanceGreengates is situated largely in the Idle and Thackley ward and partly in the Eccleshill ward. It is represented as part of the parliamentary constituency of Bradford East.EconomyGreengates' proximity to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, that runs through Apperley Bridge to the north of the village, has meant that Greengates has several mills. At the western end is Robin Mills and Albion Mills. Robin Mills was a base for manufacturing knitting wool yarns but is now split into industrial units. A large part of Robin Mills is occupied by Storey Evans, carton, leaflet, label etc. printers for the pharmaceutical industry. Albion Mills is split into office accommodation and business units. There is the racing car themed Speedmaster Conference Centre, until recently notable for its classic, competition and racing car showroom and exhibition. The centre was opened in April 2008 by Sir Stirling Moss.