Dixons Unity Academy pupils speak at Convention of the North. Photo: Jack Bolton
Students from Dixons Unity Academy in Armley have been rubbing shoulders with the likes of West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove.
They attended the Convention of the North on Friday, 1 March at the Royal Armouries Museum. The event assembled business, political and civic society leaders with an influence in the North, and also gave a voice to young people on the challenges and opportunities in the region.
Dixon Unity Academy pupils meet Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. Photo: Jack Bolton
Dixons Unity Academy student Chiedza took the stage to address the audience about teenage crime and pregnancy. She said: “BAME teenage girls need more non-for-profit organisations for maternal health to come from council funding, and they need acknowledgement.
“Around 20% of young people have access to drugs and alcohol, leading to misuse; smoking in pregnancy rates are higher in Leeds than national rates and are significantly higher amongst girls who are under 18 years of age at the time of delivery.”
Other students from the academy also had the chance to network with local government and private sector leaders in the key areas of transport, energy, trade and investment, health and culture.
Plans for a combination of 28 social rent and shared ownership homes in Armley could be boosted by a council grant of up to £700,000.
Developer 54North Homes is awaiting planning permission to build the properties on the site of a former church hall and vicarage off Wesley Road.
A Leeds City Council report has authorised a £700,000 grant made up of commuted sums. Commuted sums is a funding stream managed by the council and is made up of contributions which have been paid by developers through legal agreements related to planning approvals in lieu of providing affordable housing on site.
A council report published today states: “Housing need is high in Armley, with over 800 households currently on the housing register, many of which require either two-bed home or three-bed homes.
“The scheme will contribute towards addressing this housing need though delivering new affordable homes, supporting those on low incomes into high quality homes. 22 of the properties will be available for social rent, greatly contributing towards meeting the need for social rented homes in the city. The remaining six will be available for shared ownership which can offer a route into home ownership for those who can access mortgages.”
If anyone had randomly called into the Jug and Barrel pub in Stanningley, they would have done a double take. Several members of the bar staff had donned multi-coloured kaftans, flares and even curly wigs in tribute to that night’s band: popular 70s glam supergroup Vig Vam Bam.
It was a great turnout – the room was packed – sending the temperature soaring and drinks flowing.
Vig Vam Bam are a six piece band fronted by vocalist Fiona ‘Fi’ McMillan – who lives in Swinnow – looking very dapper in a red tartan drape jacket – playing 70s glam classics like T-Rex, Sweet, Mudd, The Bay City Rollers, David Bowie etc.
They are a collaboration from members of other Leeds bands including: The Vaynes, Rose of Avalanche, Indigo Slink, The Expelaires, XLerators and Patsy Clone. They recently hosted a fundraiser for the bar staff who had lost their jobs when The Grove Inn – one of the oldest and most cherished pubs in Leeds – was gutted in an arson attack.
The band played not one – but two ‘Dynamite’ sets two sets of twenty seven glam rock classics, and the audience came alive to Suzi Quatro’s ‘Devil Gate Drive’ a lively number that got people on their feet.
The rest of the set was a step back in time to when a packet of crisps was about 5p, a bag of chips was 7p and a pint of beer was 20p – now those were the days, eh?
After Fi crooned ‘Cooca Chew’ (Alvin Stardust), everyone started tapping their feet to ‘Get it on’ (T-Rex) and having a blast to ‘Ballroom Blitz’ (Sweet), ‘Queen Bitch’ (David Bowie) and ‘Dynamite’ (Mud). There was a little change in tempo and the crowd swayed and sang along ‘Come up and See Me’ (Steve Harley and the Cockney Rebel) and ‘See My Baby Jive’ (Wizard).’ Then things got a little more ‘racey’ with ‘Some Girls’ (Racey), ‘Mama Weer all Crazee Now’ (Slade) and ‘Crazy Horses’ (The Osmonds).
The end of the first set was the Bay City Rollers ‘Bye Bye Baby’ and there were several tartan (and one or two striped and floral) scarves being waved in the air – grasped at both ends like the it was a home match at Elland Road.
After a brief interlude in which people grabbed the opportunity to cool down and refresh their drinks, it was time for set two – kicking off with two Sweet numbers ‘Wig Wam Bam’ and ‘Blockbuster.
Then it was time to rev their engines for ‘Motorbikin’ (Chris Spedding). A few avid Mud fans knew the dance to ‘Tiger Feet’ then it was ‘Wam bam thank you mam’ for all the Bowie fans when they belted out ‘Suffragette City.’ The band played ‘Roll Away the Stone’ (Mott the Hoople) sang ‘Gudbye T’Jane’ (Slade) and the ‘20th Century Boy’ (T-Rex), then everyone clapped their hands to ‘Shang-a-lang’ (Bay City Rollers).
After these, it was time to give tribute to another 70’s supergroup Abba with ‘Does your Mother Know?’ followed by a ‘Jukebox Jive’ (The Rubettes). This was followed by the emotional ‘All the Young Dudes’ (Mott the Hoople).
‘Can the Can’ (Suzi Quatro), increased the beat again, then the crowd went on a ‘Teenage Rampage’ (Sweet). Vig Vam Bam brought this all to a close with a glittering, explosive finale playing ‘Cherry Bomb’ (The Runaways’). They had a captive audience from start to finish, had brought along all their regular fans and left with quite a few more by the end. It was a spectacular and very successful night for Vig Vam Bam and this Stanningley pub.
Vig Vam Bam play gigs and festivals all over Leeds and West Yorkshire. To find out when this superb, 70s supergroup are playing in the near future, visit their Facebook page.
Vintage kitchenalia are always popular - numerous exhibits.
By Ivor Hughes
Leeds Vintage Home Show returned to Pudsey Civic Hall on Sunday after a five-month interval.
With events in London and Manchester, the rotation and infrequency at those venues mean that there are more likely to be fresh injections of both stock and exhibitors at each. Guests aren’t paying to see the same stuff month in month out. And so it was on Sunday.
Next Leeds show is on 15 June.
Here are some photos from the day:
Something Truly Vintage of Horncastle was exhibiting in Pudsey for the first time. How appropriate that they should be offering this set on 3 March – National Mulled Wine Day (UK and US).Vintage kitchenalia are always popular – numerous exhibits.Carolyn Mackender travelled here from York. This original cast iron street sign was just waiting for a similarly named customer – or Newcastle United fan. Light Fandango of Mytholmroyd specialises in vintage style lighting.A must-have for some vintage devotees. Tina by J H Lynch. Offered by Blackdog Retro.Sunday was first time out for this exceptional exhibit. A handmade garden table set in tube steel and teak designed by Herman Persson. leightonbatesmobel of Towcester.
Despite the winter, things continue to be busy at Kirkstall Valley Farm. As a team of staff growers and many volunteers, we’re about to begin our fourth year of growing enough veg for around 100 veg boxes a week. Here’s an update on what we’ve been doing recently and how you can get involved.
We currently have spaces on our Community Supported Agriculture scheme. This means that you pay a regular contribution to support the farm – people who can afford to, pay a bit more, and people with lower incomes pay a bit less, creating solidarity across everyone.
Every week you come to the farm and collect your “share” of what we’ve harvested from the fields that day – it will be fresh, delicious and changes with the seasons. Your support means we can run lots of volunteer sessions, look after the land and wildlife in environmentally friendly ways, and develop a powerful, caring community in Kirkstall.
Last year we welcomed our first trainee, Selina, who worked with us through the season to learn about field scale veg growing.
She says: “I have really enjoyed my time at KVF, the team have been great to work with. Training on the farm has given me an insight into how food is grown on a commercial scale, but there is still a lot to learn. I am very happy that I got the chance to learn to drive a tractor and gain my tractor license, this is something that would have been unimaginable before working at KVF.”
We hope to be able to employ Selina in the future, and in the meantime you can catch her on YouTube’s My Family Garden, for great videos about growing at home with your kids.
We also put up a second polytunnel, which will mean we can grow more salads and greens in the winter, and more delicious tomatoes, aubergines and peppers during the summer. Polytunnels are an amazing way of creating the right climate for foods that otherwise have to travel a very long way. With a grant from Wades Charity, we are also developing our seed sowing systems to make them better for plants and volunteers!
Volunteers organised a fantastic party to celebrate another growing season on the farm – many thanks to all the musicians, organisations and artists who supported that. We’ll be running another later this year, keep your eyes peeled for the date!
Our active volunteer community keeps on growing! Volunteers are involved in every aspect of the farm, whether growing veg, building packing and storage facilities, welcoming customers and organising open mornings. Everyone is welcome, whether you want to come every week, or pop in now and then when you can. There’s always a mixture of jobs and we always show you what to do – you don’t need to be an expert gardener or builder!
An artist's impression of the Hough Top development
A Pudsey councillor has expressed his concerns over the design of 82 new local authority homes planned for a former school site in Swinnow.
As reported by WLD, members of the south and west plans panel will next Thursday discuss the proposals on the Hough Side High School site at Hough Top. No decision on whether to approve the plans will be made at the meeting, but councillors will discuss the progress of the application and will offer guidance on key planning issues associated with the development.
Issues raised by council planning officers include the design and appearance of the proposals and the highways layout – and nearby residents have already raised their concerns over the proposals.
Pudsey councillor Simon Seary (Cons) is calling for plans to be re-drawn. He said: “I will be attending the plans panel meeting with local residents to express my disappointment that the design of the new proposed development is not to the standard expected.
“I and the residents I’ve spoken to agree that the site needs developing for much-needed housing, but the development needs to be of a good standard and not create more issues than it will address in the area.”
Cllr Seary has concerns over vehicle access and the impact on the junction of Swinnow Lane and the primary school and the single section of road onto Intake Lane.
He added: “The proposed plan has a block of flats and they have designed the development with the block of flats at the front of the development and nearest to the house that directly fronts Hough Top. There’s plenty of room on the site to accommodate this further back without it encroaching.
“The houses along the road edge of Hough Top are not in keeping with the immediate local properties from a material and vernacular viewpoint.
“If this was any other developer, we would demand that they make the necessary improvements, but it appears it’s one rule for one! This is a large brownfield site where the council has a real opportunity to get it right and provide real homes that fit and work for our area.”
The proposal is for a 100% affordable residential development across the site including both houses and apartments. The site would contain 55 houses and 27 apartments, meaning there will be 82 new residential properties proposed.
The proposed two storey houses will be a mixture of two, three and four bedrooms. Each house will have its own parking spaces and private garden space. The proposed three-storey apartment block will contain a mixture of one and two-bedroom units.
The full agenda of next Thursday’s (7 March) meeting can be found here. The meeting starts at Leeds Civic Hall at 1.30pm and members of the public can attend in person. Alternatively the meeting can be watched on the council’s Youtube channel.
Ricky from the Kaiser Chiefs wows the crowd. Photo: Katherine Turner
By Katherine Turner
Leeds band Kaiser Chiefs played a sold out gig at The Project House in Armley on Friday night.
To celebrate the release of their new album Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album the band played a small launch show at Project House on Armley Road. The venue is a relatively new venture in Leeds brought to us from four of Leeds most well-known music institutions – Belgrave Music Hall, Brudenell Social Club, Super Friendz and Welcome Skate Park.
The band comprise of Leeds-born lead singer Ricky Wilson, guitarist Andrew “Whitey” White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick “Peanut” Baines and drummer Vijay Mistry.
The Kaiser Chiefs played an Armley gig. Photo: Katherine Turner
With a capacity of only 1,000, the gig saw the band play a mix of well-known songs: I Predict a Riot, Ruby, Every Day I Love You Less and Less, Hole in my Soul and Never Miss a Beat with a rapturous encore of Oh My God and songs from the new album such as How 2 Dance and Burning in Flames.
With doors opening at 7pm fans were queuing down Armley Road with the band eventually starting their set at 8.30pm.
As Ricky was not quite au fait with the lyrics for the new album songs he often sang from lyric sheets and then threw them into the crowd before their encore, much to the screaming fans’ delight.
It is safe to say that their new album went down well with fans and they now embark on their country-wide tour starting in Stockton-on-Tees on 16 April.
After the gig, Simon was asked on Twitter if he had to choose between Leeds United being promoted or the band reaching number one with his new album, he joked: “Hmmmm. Leeds being promoted is good for the whole city and for thousands of fans around the world, whereas #1 only affects us five. So I’d have to go for #1”
Farsley Celtic battled their way to a creditable 0-0 draw against playoff chasers Brackley Town in a game of few chances.
The Celts were looking to bounce back after a shock 4-1 home defeat against Rushall Olympic on Tuesday – and put in a fighting and determined performance which saw them come away with a point.
The Celts made several changes from the Rushall debacle, with the experienced Rudy Misambo and Tom Allan returning to the backline, with Ryan Watson coming into midfield for his first start of 2024 and Ben Atkinson playing at right wing back. Sam Leverett, Harvey Rowe and David Adewolu dropped to the bench.
The hosts started brightly and could have taken the lead in the opening minute, Connor Hall heading wide from Danny Newton’s cross. The hosts carved out a couple of opportunities before it was the Celts’ turn to go close. Ryan Watson floated a cross towards the back post and Michael Coulson narrowly failed to hit the target.
On the half-hour mark a mix-up at the back for Brackley allowed Clayton Donaldson through, but Tyler Lyttle produced a lunging challenge to avert a certain goal.
The Celts will have been happy to go in 0-0 at half time after a solid display.
Farsley’s best chance of the second half came after Watson – who was impressive on his return to the side – hit one on the volley from the edge of the box, but it was an easy save for Danny Lewis.
Ten minutes later and it was a strong save from Leban which kept the core goalless, as he dived down to his right to deny Newton’s header.
The home side put The Celts under pressure towards the end of the game, but the away side held firm for an important point on the road.
The game was notable for notable achievements by the Atkinson brothers. Skipper Chris played his club record-equalling 310th appearance, and brother Ben made his 200th for the club.
Next week The Celts entertain Alfreton at The Citadel, kick off 3pm.
An artist's impression of the houses at Hough Top development has been criticised as being inaccurate.
Plans for 82 local authority homes at the site of a former Swinnow school will be debated by councillors next week.
The former Hough Side High School site at Hough Top would house 82 affordable dwellings if Leeds City Council’s plans receive the green light.
Members of the south and west plans panel will next Thursday discuss the proposals. No decision on whether to approve the plans will be made at the meeting, but councillors will discuss the progress of the application and will offer guidance on key planning issues associated with the development.
Issues raised by council planning officers include the design and appearance of the plans, the net biodiversity loss and the highways layout.
A planning officer’s report to the meeting states: “Although the proposed development includes a number of positive aspects, in particular the 100% affordable housing provision, there are a several issues concerning officers.
“They include the net biodiversity loss proposed, the design and appearance of the scheme, the representations in relation to the proposed highways layout and the surface water drainage strategy. Panel Members are therefore requested to provide answers to the questions posed in the main body of this report … and to offer any additional comments that they consider appropriate regarding this development proposal.”
The proposal is for a 100% affordable residential development across the site including both houses and apartments. The site would contain 55 houses and 27 apartments, meaning there will be 82 new residential properties proposed.
The proposed two storey houses will be a mixture of two, three and four bedrooms. Each house will have its own parking spaces and private garden space. The proposed three-storey apartment block will contain a mixture of one and two-bedroom units.
The full agenda of next Thursday’s (7 March) meeting can be found here. The meeting starts at Leeds Civic Hall at 1.30pm and members of the public can attend in person. Alternatively the meeting can be watched on the council’s Youtube channel.
A disabled author made redundant during COVID-19 has written a children’s book to raise funds for a charity close to her heart.
Sara Hornshaw was made redundant during the pandemic as she was unable to work because of her disability Noonan syndrome, a genetic condition that can cause a wide range of distinctive features and health problems.
Sara also has learning difficulties and was recently diagnosed with focal epilepsy. Focal epilepsy seizures affect only one side of your brain and body and tend to be less severe than generalised seizures, which affect both sides of your brain and body. Focal seizures are the most common type of seizures with epilepsy.
Sara has good days and bad days with these disabilities, and can have severe mood swings.
When Sara lost her job she also lost her security and her anxiety grew to the point she didn’t even want to get out of bed in the morning. She was terrified of about losing her dog Minnie and her independence.
She decided to be strong and seek help, for her and her dog Minnie’s welfare. Sara saw a therapist and got coping strategies for her anxiety.
She then decided to use her creativity to write a children’s book, about a cat called Sian and a unicorn called Eirian. The book will be the first of a series called, The Adventures of Sian the Cat and Eirian the Unicorn. This book is called Sian the Cat and Eirian the Unicorn’s Big London Adventure.
Sara said: “I wrote this book because I was always writing stories for my friends. About Sian the cat and my other cuddly animals and my dog Minnie. I decided I may as well write a book for children, and give the money to charity.”
Sara will be donating the profits to The Brain Tumour Charity, a charity which funds vital research into brain tumours. The brain tumour charity supports families and Patients dealing with brain tumours. They aim to make life longer and better for people who have this life-changing diagnosis.
She is choosing the brain tumour charity because some of her friends have been affected by brain tumours. Sara did a bake sale for another brain tumour charity and was shocked by how many people have been affected by brain tumours.
The book is due to be released in late June/early July and it’s hoped it will be sold on Amazon and in local book shops.
Calverley Golf Course is one of 155 assets that Bradford Council is proposing to sell to avoid bankrupcy.
The full list of buildings and land will go before Bradford Council’s Executive on Tuesday, 5 March. The golf course, which is in the Calverley and Farsley ward in Leeds, is listed as a ‘freehold leisure investment’.
A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “Members of Bradford Council’s Executive will be asked to agree to an ongoing disposal program of surplus property and land assets.
“The asset disposal programme is part of the council’s plan to achieve financial sustainability.
“The intention is to initially generate £60M during 2024/5 and 2025/6 with further work during this period to bring forward more disposal opportunities for either incorporation into this time frame or for future years.
“This list has been drawn up after an initial review of the council’s property interests. Each asset will be reviewed as to whether they should be disposed of or retained, so no decision has yet been made.
“For some properties on the list where the council owns the freehold, there is often a separate leasehold on the property owned by another party.
“In simple terms, the council might own the land the building is on, but someone else occupies the building itself. In these cases, the tenants should not notice a change.”
