Kirklees
§ This page gives an overview of the Kirklees local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ Kirklees spans much of West Yorkshire’s southern Pennines, combining towns, valleys, and moorland. Huddersfield is the largest town, known for its Victorian architecture, canals, and university, while Dewsbury, Batley, and Holmfirth add variety with markets, historic buildings, and cultural associations. The Colne Valley and Holme Valley cut through the hills, with reservoirs and scenic countryside popular for walking. The Pennine uplands form a dramatic backdrop, with rugged moors and far-reaching views. Kirklees blends industrial towns with rural landscapes, giving it a diverse and distinctive geography.
The administrative boundary of Kirklees can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Kirklees.
Key Facts about Kirklees
What region is Kirklees in? Kirklees is in the Yorkshire and The Humber of England, a region within the UK.
What county is Kirklees in? Kirklees is located in the county of West Yorkshire.
Is Kirklees a city? No, Kirklees is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs Kirklees? The local government for this district is: Kirklees Borough Council (Metropolitan District).
▶ Official website of Kirklees Borough Council 🔗 kirklees.gov.uk
Which police force covers Kirklees? Policing in Kirklees is provided by West Yorkshire Police 🔗 westyorkshire.police.uk, which serves 5 local authority districts: Bradford ⁞ Calderdale ⁞ Kirklees ⁞ Leeds ⁞ Wakefield.
Kirklees in International Geographies
In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, Kirklees is within an ITLs Level 3 area:
- (ITL 1) Yorkshire and The Humber
- (ITL 2) ⇒ West Yorkshire
- (ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Calderdale and Kirklees
The International Territorial Levels are used by OECD member countries for statistical purposes to classify administrative areas. We have this listable page for easy browsing of ITL names and codes: International Territorial Levels.
Constituencies in Kirklees
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 54 of them are in Yorkshire and the Humber region. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.
Wards in Kirklees
Kirklees is divided into 23 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Almondbury
- Ashbrow
- Batley East
- Batley West
- Birstall and Birkenshaw
- Cleckheaton
- Colne Valley
- Crosland Moor and Netherton
- Dalton
- Denby Dale
- Dewsbury East
- Dewsbury South
- Dewsbury West
- Golcar
- Greenhead
- Heckmondwike
- Holme Valley North
- Holme Valley South
- Kirkburton
- Lindley
- Liversedge and Gomersal
- Mirfield
- Newsome
In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.
Parishes in Kirklees
Kirklees is part-parished: 5 civil parishes (listed A-Z below) alongside 6 unparished areas.
- Denby Dale
- Holme Valley
- Kirkburton
- Meltham
- Mirfield
A civil parish is the lowest tier of local government in England, used for villages, small towns, and suburbs. They have their own local authority, either a parish council or a parish meeting, which provides local services like managing parks, allotments, and streetlights, and represents the community's views to larger councils.
Built-up Areas in Kirklees
Kirklees covers 43 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Batley *
- Bolster Moor
- Bradford *
- Brighouse *
- Clayton West and Scissett
- Cleckheaton *
- Denby Dale
- Dewsbury *
- Drighlington *
- East Ardsley *
- Emley
- Flockton
- Gomersal and Birkenshaw *
- Grange Moor
- Hade Edge
- Heckmondwike
- Holmbridge
- Holmfirth
- Honley
- Huddersfield *
- Ingbirchworth *
- Kirkburton
- Kirkheaton
- Lepton
- Linthwaite and Slaithwaite
- Liversedge
- Marsden
- Meltham
- Mirfield *
- Moor Top
- Netherton (Kirklees)
- Oakenshaw *
- Ossett *
- Outlane *
- Scapegoat Hill
- Scholes (near Cleckheaton) *
- Scholes (near Hade Edge)
- Shelley (Kirklees)
- Shepley
- Skelmanthorpe
- Upper Cumberworth
- Upper Denby *
- Upperthong
In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Kirklees.)
Kirklees compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Kirklees compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Kirklees has 23 electoral wards.
Kirklees has a population of 447,847 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Kirklees can be found on the ONS statistics for Kirklees.