By John Baron
Additional reporting: Don Mort, Local Democracy Reporter
Campaigners fighting to save Stocks Hill Day Centre in Armley from closure are set to protest outside a full council meeting at Leeds Civic Hall on Wednesday.
Multi-million pound budget savings are expected to be approved when all 99 councillors in Leeds debate spending plans for the coming financial year.
Job losses and a council tax rise are among measures to help Leeds City Council save £103.8m during 2025/26.
The Labour-controlled authority has welcomed an extra £67m in government funding, which eased pressure on some council services. But it has warned that rising demand on children’s services and adult social care meant wide-ranging savings needed to be considered.
As part of its cuts, the council is aiming to close Stocks Hill Hub in Armley, which campaigners say provides a lifeline service for many people. Services would be moved to Horsforth.
Campaigners are planning to protest outside Leeds Civic Hall before Wednesday’s full council meeting.
Service user Norman Forsyth told WLD: “Stocks Hill Hub supports people with mental health issues not only in Armley, but people in Pudsey, Wortley, Burley, Farnley, Bramley and all the surrounding areas.
“There are other agencies who use the hub to support people with mental health issues.
“For the many people who meet there and support each other – and see their caseworker face to face to face and receive immediate support from them – this relocation will make the service inaccessible due to distance from their homes and anxiety travelling such long distances.
“Attending Stocks Hill and the face to face service they provide, in an area of Leeds we can access, keeps us stable.
“Relocating this service will have a negative impact on our mental health. Some of us will end up seriously unwell.”
The council’s revenue budget and council tax plans are expected to be agreed at a full council meeting on Wednesday (February 26).
A report to the meeting said rising inflation had hit the cost of goods and services and people in the city had reduced disposable incomes.
It said: “Looking ahead, the position remains challenging. Against a backdrop of uncertain government funding from April 2026, inflation and cost of living pressures have significant implications for the council’s finances, as do levels of demand.”
The council faces rising costs in services including adult social care, while central Government has underfunded local authorities across the country over the past 15 years
Council tax is set to rise by 4.99 per cent as part of the savings plan.
Some 1.99 per cent of the increase is a “social care precept”, a levy councils are allowed to include to help care for vulnerable people.
Extra central government funding meant the council avoided having to close Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall, a move which had been met with a public backlash.
The council proposed closing 30 bowling greens around the city, but then decided they would be maintained until the end of the 2025 summer season. A further consultation is planned on bowling green provision.
Plans to reduce funding for Neighbourhood Networks, which help elderly people live independently, by ten per cent would also not be needed.
Current plans include a review of 56 children’s centres around Leeds. In West Leeds this means children’s centres in Pudsey, Farsley, Swinnow and Bramley face an uncertain future. Centres currently run by schools could be brought under council control to save cash. No decisions have yet been made over closures or job losses.
Services under review also include children’s transport services, a possible reduction in the number of community committees and the council’s cultural investment programme. A final decision on the future of Pudsey Civic Hall is yet to be taken.
The council has warned compulsory redundancies may be needed to reduce staffing by the equivalent of more than 230 full-time posts.
Further savings will be needed in the following two financial years, the report said. The shortfall was estimated at £38.2m in 2026/27 and £30.1m in 2027/28.
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