Words: John Baron
Photos: Kelvin Wakefield
Where does the time go? It doesn’t seem ten years since West Leeds Dispatch started out!
A decade of independent community journalism in West Leeds was celebrated at a special event at Bramley Villagers this week.
The celebration saw our volunteer community reporters, board members, supporters, and partners (including Bramley Baths and Sunny Bank Mills) being joined by local councillors and our funders.
The event was opened by WLD chair Anne Akers and we were joined by guest Sarah Hartley, who spoke about the importance of local journalism to communities. Sarah, who has had a distinguished career in journalism and worked for the Guardian Media Group for many years, runs the Northern Eco.
It was fitting Sarah was there as without her WLD might never have existed. Sarah was one of the people behind an organisation called Talk About Local (TAL), which supported and encouraged community news organisations like ours.
At was at the TAL Unconference at the British Library in London that I bumped into fellow West Leeds resident Emma Bearman and we came up with the idea of a news site to connect people to local groups and events, encouraging them to be more active in their communities.
We wanted to do something which gave residents a voice, and also connected people to local decision making and democracy. A well attended public meeting to form WLD was held at Branley Lawn later that year and the rest, as they say is history.
The event was a celebration of our volunteers, without whom WLD wouldn’t exist. Community reporters received goodie bags which included lanyards, badges and a notebook to mark their contributions.
Community reporter Kevin Wakefield captured the evening with his camera and below is a slideshow of some of his photos:
Horsforth’s finest: Jill Stocks and Sam Gillinder. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield 
Editor John Baron and West Leeds Community Media chair Anne Akers. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield 
Nelson Rodriguez with Sarah Hartley. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield 
Iola Shaw (right) with Sarah Hartley. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield 
Noah Roberts (left) with her goodie bag. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield 
Jennie Willetts of Bramley Baths looks on. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield 
WLD community reporter support worker Jean Hollings. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield 
WLD editor John Baron makes a point. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield 
Speaker: Sarah Hartley, from the Northern Eco. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield
A decade in and WLD continues its mission to connect people to what’s happening in their communities, encouraging them to be more active and knowledgeable citizens.
We’ve had 9 million page views from 4.8 million visitors since 2015, have trained up what will soon be our 100th community reporter. We like to think we’ve made a real difference in people’s lives.
Lastly everyone at WLD would like to thank you, our readers, for your continued support. We really wouldn’t be here without you.
How you can get involved with WLD
If you might be interested in joining our board of trustees, please drop us a line on news@westleedsdispatch.com.
Fancy becoming a community reporter and telling the story of your community? Our next free training course starts on Wednesday in Horsforth town centre (7pm). More details and booking here.
And our next community quiz night will be held at truly Scrummy in Horsforth on Tuesday, 10 June at 7.30pm. You’d be welcome to join us! More details here.
You can become a WLD supporter for just £5 or £10 a month here.
Thanks for a great evening on Thursday. Is it possible to obtain copies of the photos taken when we were presented with our goody bags & lanyards?
Thank you for the effort you put and the daily updates.
It looks like you had a happy and well attended 10th Anniversary. I am sorry that I didn’t make it along and thank you for the great community news that you offer our community. Here’s to the next 10 years. May they also be as equally productive
Lee Ingham, CEO Bramley Elderly Action and Older Wiser Local Seniors