We’ve lost our pubs but there is still plenty in Paddock’
MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY DISCUSS LIFE IN AN AREA THAT HAS CHANGED SO MUCH OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS
ONCE Paddock had five pubs.
The area, which is less than a mile west of Huddersfield town centre, had The Ship, the Tam O’Shanter, The Commercial, The Royal Oak and The Angel.
Now Paddock is almost a dry village. The last pub to go, The Ship, is now an accountancy practise.
If you want a pint you’ll need to go to the Conservative Club on Raven Street or the Cricket Club on West View Rise.
So Paddock has changed considerably over the last 30 years.
Once a predominantly white working-class area, it is now ethnically mixed and still in transition.
Some people aren’t happy about the way the area has changed.
One local butcher thinks the area has gone ‘down’; he complains about the litter and the rundown houses occupied by some of Paddock’s residents.
His colleague laments: “It’s not the same social life.”
Some residents, however, are less bothered about how Paddock changing.
Paul Sanderson, an IT volunteer at Paddock Village Hall, has his misgivings about the place where he’s lived for decades, but he’s broadly upbeat about it.
He says: “I get on with everybody around here.
“There can be a community feel – it depends what’s happening at certain times. You still get bits of trouble.”
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Paul helps run free drop-in computer sessions. They’re a lifeline for people without the equipment, where they can do their personal admin, write CVs and sharpen their computer skills.
“Paddock is so diverse.
“We’ve got Kurdish, Pakistani, Indian people. We’ve got everything,” he says
Like many less affluent urban areas, Paddock has the usual share of problems, including violent crime