By John Baron, WLD editor
It’s a blustery New Year’s Eve morning as I sit in our community newsroom at Bramley Lawn Social Centre.
Other than the resident squirrel which lives in the community garden outside our office window, there’s no-one else here.
This is unusual as we often have community reporters popping in with tales of the latest stories they’re reporting on. And the fab folks at Bramley Elderly Action, who we rent our newsroom from, are taking a well-earned break so the constant buzz of activities, cafes, support groups and singalongs at Bramley Lawn are on pause.
Today is like the stillness before the hustle and bustle of life restarts in 2025. The deep breath before the plunge. It’s also a time for reflection.
2024 has certainly been a busy one, and I hope WLD has made a difference to the communities it serves. As editor I look back with pride at our coverage.
Our fantastic team of volunteer community reporters have certainly been busy. As a trained journalist of 30-something years I’ve always had it drilled into it that ‘bad news sells’, but our community reporters constantly challenge this.
Looking through their coverage, it’s almost always positive, featuring uplifting stories celebrating people’s successes, community events, and people coming together and doing great things in our community.
Their coverage is a celebration of our local community groups and organisations, connecting us to their often unsung work, encouraging us to join in and become more connected to the communities where well all live. Perhaps mainstream media needs to take note.
My thanks go to every single contributor. I’d also like to thank our three-strong what’s on crew who have tirelessly compiled hundreds of West Leeds events this year and creating a hugely impressive recourse of community events and activities – check it out here.
We’re also highlighting the financial challenges facing Leeds City Council, including building sales/closures, service cuts and the introduction of new charges thorough our Cutswatch series, which now consists of more than 150 articles over the past four years. It’s never been more important to shine a light on how the council spends our council tax and runs our city.
The futures of Pudsey Civic Hall and Abbey House Museum have captured the interest of readers. The petition to save Abbey House has now passed 2,800 signatures and it looks like there’s a real sense of anger and opposition. We will continue to follow these developments closely as the council faces the rising costs of running services and uncertain funding streams from central government.
We have continued to follow the issues surrounding the future of the historic TV Harrison sports ground in Wortley, and recently broke the news that the council has now withdrawn its housing plans for the site. We’ve published more than 50 articles on the future of the land since 2019.
One of the biggest stories in 2024 has been Mayor Tracy Brabin’s announcement of plans for a new mass transit system, with a line going through West Leeds. We’ve been quietly reporting on discussions surrounding this for years but this year the proposals became tangible – and we led the way with our reporting on the community consultation, as well as local reaction.
The results of the consultation – and the debate over what route the line will take through West Leeds – is something we will follow closely in 2025.
I think you’ll agree, independent community led journalism has never been more important!
It seems remarkable to me that WLD continues to thrive and grow against all the odds. In May we will celebrate our tenth anniversary and this article is number 11,358!
We have also been boosted by the National Lottery agreeing to fund us for another three years. The bid saw our volunteer-led board put in countless hours to secure WLD‘s future, but it’s rewarding to see all our hard graft come off. My thanks go to the board for all their work and support this year.
Our funding starts tomorrow (1 January 2025) and will see us adding a community reporter development worker to our ranks to further support and nurture our volunteers.
We will also be publishing six printed newspapers in 2025, rather than the usual four. People sometimes ask why we have moved into print. The answer is simple: not everyone is online and we’re reaching a different audience – and our community reporters love to see their names in print!
You may also have noticed a trickle of Horsforth stories and a new Horsforth section on our website. For years we’ve had people in Horsforth asking us to cover the town – they tell us they feel part of West Leeds and value the coverage we give other communities. We’ve listened to their views and we agree!
So starting in January we’ll be slowly increasing our Horsforth coverage – if you have a Horsforth story – or one from anywhere else in West Leeds – drop us a line on news@westleedsdispatch.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Lastly I’d like to thank YOU, our readers, for your support, comments and tip offs. Our loyal band of supporters contribute £5 or more a month to help keep us going and their support is a real lifeline which helps pay some of our essential running costs.
If you value our community led journalism, please consider becoming a monthly supporter, we really can’t do what we do without your help.
Alternatively, you can set up a standing order with your bank. Please contact us on accounts@westleedsdispatch.com if you’d like to do this.
From my family to yours, sincerely, a very happy New Year to you all.
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Well done WLD for being our voice of West Leeds and keeping us informed. Keep on doing what you’re doing.