The economic and physical condition of several of the former mining towns and villages in Wakefield District have started to improve due to the booming economy of
Leeds – and an increase in numbers of commuters to the city from the sub-region – and a recognition of undeveloped assets. For instance
Castleford, to the North East of Wakefield is seeing extensive development and investment because of the natural asset of its outlook on to the
River Aire, its easy access to the national motorway network and the availability of former mining land for house-building. In Ossett, house prices have risen from an average of £50,000 in 1998 to £130,000 in 2003. Although unemployment was amongst the highest in the country for most of the 1980s, and 1990s, Wakefield District now has below-average unemployment. The "Wakefield East" ward had 4.7% unemployment in May 2005 (source:
Office for National Statistics)—which was more than 1% higher than any other ward. The eastern half of the district remains considerably less prosperous than the western half, with several deprived wards The district is mainly made out of old
coal-mining towns, although other industries include
wool,
chemicals,
machine tools, glass and other forms of manufacturing.
Horbury is something of an anomaly in having had an
iron works. When
Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979 there were 21 pits in the district. By the time the
1984 Strike began this had decreased to 15, however it still had more collieries than any other district in the country. At the time of
privatization in November 1994, only two remained: the
Prince of Wales at Pontefract, which closed in 2002, and
Kellingley at Knottingley which closed in 2015 ending the industry that once dominated the district. Most of the district's pits had been very hardline during the 1984 strike. ==History==