Gipton housing estate can be traced to the work of Charles Jenkinson, the vicar of Holbeck, a poor city-centre parish. Jenkinson was familiar with the poor housing conditions of his parishioners and was determined to alleviate them. His chance came in 1933 after the Labour Party won the municipal elections and set up a Housing Committee to oversee his programme and appointed him chair. Work began on the Gipton estate in April 1934 and involved the construction of a "garden suburb" for the working classes with 2,750 houses with accommodation for around 13,000 people. The project took two years including two roads, one 150 feet wide and the other 125 feet wide with tram tracks in the centre and grass verges at the side. The tracks linked the estate to the city centre. A shopping centre with 40 shops was at the heart of the estate and secondary shopping centres were built at other points. Sites were reserved for churches, schools, playing fields, medical practitioners, dentists, and other public facilities. The scheme would cost £12 million. When complete the estate took on a character which, while not specific to the final plan, remains fundamentally unchanged today. Redevelopment In the 2000s houses in some areas were demolished and replaced by a mixture of private and public housing. These included parts of the north of the estate around Amberton Road, Amberton Terrace and Amberton Close as well as parts of the south of the estate around Brander Road and Greenview Mount. The streets to the south of the estate to be demolished had suffered from vacation, neglect and arson prior to demolition. Religious architecture Church of the Epiphany The Church of the Epiphany at the junction of Amberton Road and Beech Lane was constructed in 1936–38 with plans that were prepared by N.F. Cachemaille-Day, and is a Grade I listed building. The Epiphany was built by Armitage Hodgson of Leeds, with the foundation stone being laid on 12 July 1937. The church was consecrated by Geoffrey Lunt, Bishop of Ripon, on 14 May 1938 in the presence of Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood. The full title of the church is "The Bishop Burroughs (of Ripon) Memorial Church", but it is never used. Church of St Nicholas Work began on the Church hall in 1938 when 10 acres of land was purchased from Leeds Corporation at the cost of £6,766. 11s.7d