Friday, March 29, 2024
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Missed chances deepen Farsley Celtic’s relegation fears as Bradford Park Avenue secure narrow win

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Farsley Celtic are aiming for a change on fortune ion the road at the Horsfall Stadium tomorrow (Saturday) Photo: Thomas Ritchie/Farsley Celtic

Words: John Baron

There’s a well-known saying in football that ‘it’s a game of two halves’. Sadly for Farsley Celtic the cliche perfectly summed up last night’s game as they crashed 1-0 to Bradford Park Avenue.

Bottom club Farsley, buoyed by their first league win since November on Saturday, started the game brightly. Striker Jimmy Spencer rattled the bar early on, then headed a good chance wide before forcing Bradford’s inspired keeper into a fine save from distance – all before half-time.

Keeper George Sykes-Kenworthy kept Bradford in it, saving well when Luke Parkin was put through, and striker Jerome Greaves flashed a chance wide.

The missed chances were to prove costly as Bradford made a double substitution at half-time and improved almost immediately. Just four minutes into the second half striker Lewis Knight a well-worked goal with Park Avenue’s only shot on target all night.

In a second period of few chances, the Celts were unable to raise their game and defeat leaves them rooted to the bottom of the National League North and in deep relegation trouble. They’re two points behind local rivals Guiseley, who now have two games in hand. The Celts are three points behind an improving Telford side, but do have a game in hand.

The result leaves Park Avenue 12 points above the Celts and all-but guaranteed their survival for this season.

Farsley manager Russ Wilcox spoke of this frustration after the game and said that they only had themselves to blame for not taking their chances in the first half:

First look inside showhome at historic Cliff House mansion development

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Cliff Oaks Mansion - Wortley
An artist's impression of new houses on the Cliff Oaks development.

Words: John Baron

Apartments and townhouses at a new £8m gated community at historic Cliff House in Wortley have now gone on the market.

Aspen Woolf, a property investment firm, has this week opened property at Cliff Oaks for reservations. 

Eight luxurious apartments, including a four-bedroom penthouse, are now available within the renovated Grade II listed Cliff House Mansion, which had previously been gutted by fire back in 2017 and classified a historic ‘building at risk’ by Leeds council.

Seven new-build townhouses surrounding the mansion, with three or four-bedrooms, are also now available within the Cliff Oaks gated community.

Prices on the estate, which is based off Fawcett Lane in Wortley, start at £170,000.

Check out the slideshow of images of the apartments below:

The mansion was built by renown industrialist Joseph Cliff in 1843. It was occupied as a boy’s schoolhouse in the early 1900s but suffered severe fire damage in 2017.

Now renovated by Priestly Construction, eight new-build apartments will be available in the converted private mansion. The apartments offer either two or three bedrooms. A four-bedroom penthouse apartment with a rooftop garden is also available for reservation. 

The mansion apartments will be delivered with high-end finishes and smart home technology throughout, being designed by award-winning builders SR Design and Build. Apartments will include built-in wardrobes, suspended feature ceilings, LED mood lighting, and fully fitted Italian designer kitchens.

Seven townhouses are also now available in the gated community. Prices begin at £170,000, with a 10% deposit (£17,000 needed) for flats in the mansion.

Four further semi-detached duplex homes on the former Cliff Cottage site are set to start build later this year. 

When completed, Cliff Oaks will comprise of 25 homes in total.

Russell Midgley, Director at Aspen Woolf, said: 

“This is a rare opportunity for people to secure a home with local heritage buildings. We are truly resurrecting a piece of history. The new apartment in a listed private mansion offers a once in a lifetime opportunity, offering the top interiors.”

Cliff House history

Formerly known as Western Flatts House, Cliff House was built in a restrained classical style by Joseph Cliff, an extremely wealthy Leeds businessman. 

Mr Cliff was well known in Leeds for his business enterprises, and he was also a councillor for the Hunslet Ward. He was influential in establishing the Upper and Lower Wortley Cemetery and Chapel in Oldfield Lane.

Cliff House wortley
Photo: Urban Explorer

Between 1966 up until it closed on the 31st August 1998, Cliff House was known as Newcliffe House School, a community special school and a reform school for young male adolescents.

Inside the gutted Cliff House mansion. Photo: Urban Explorer

In March 2017, the Grade II Listed house suffered a devastating arson attack which destroyed a vast majority of the interior. Investigations revealed that five separate fires were started in the upper levels of the property. 

WLD‘s Mark Stevenson looked at Cliff House’s history here as part of his Mark’s History series looking at West Leeds buildings at risk.

The Grade II Listed villa, off Fawcett Lane, was one of 18 buildings or monuments in West Leeds on the council’s Heritage at Risk register

Youth activity day teaches Kirkstall youngsters about biodiversity

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Kirkstall valley development trust ecology
Youngsters took to Burley Park to examine the area's ecology. Photo: Jayne Young

Words: Jayne Young

Kirkstall Valley Development Trust held their second youth activity day in February half-term – this time at the KVDT Hub in Flexspace.

Led by students and staff from Leeds University’s education outreach team, the group of young people from the Kirkstall community had a go at making their own quadrats  – a simple frame used to mark out a sample area for gathering data about biodiversity.

Powered by a delicious lunch of macaroni cheese provided by Butlers at Kirkstall Forge, the group then took their quadrats to Burley Park to try them out.

So if you saw a group of teenagers with sticks, string and clipboards in the park and wondered what they were doing, now you know!

Young people hard at work at KVDT’s Flexspace hub. Photo: Jayne Young

The original plan was to spend some time at Kirkstall Valley Community Farm, where the group spent an activity day in October half term but the recent flooding made that impossible.

It was lovely to see young people enjoying spending time in the KVDT Hub; playing games and hanging out with their friends in between activities. It felt like an important step forward in KVDT’s plan to develop a programme of activities for 11-15 year olds and create a young people’s steering group to help shape the programme. 

The day finished with yet more snacks and an energetic planning session, with the group coming up with lots of ideas for future sessions.

Next up – a pizza and games night! So look out for details in the coming weeks.

If you are interested in volunteering and supporting young people in Kirkstall, get in touch with kirsty.ward@kvdt.org.uk or adele.rae@kvdt.org.uk.

Learn how to make fruit trees – thanks to Farsley Community Orchard

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farsley community orchard
Volunteers at Farsley Community Orchard.

Community orchard volunteers in Farsley have organised a training workshop to learn how to make new fruit trees using a technique called “grafting”.

Local experts from the Fruit Works Co-operative will teach why fruit trees are propagated and the classic “whip and tongue” technique. 

Everyone will take two new apple trees home from the event, at St John’s Church Hall in Farsley on Saturday, 19 March (2-4pm).

There is a sliding scale of three ticket options to make the workshop more accessible to those on low incomes. Tickets are available here


Farsley Community Orchard, which is near Farsley Cricket Club, was established in 2016. The orchard is run by a group of like-minded volunteers who have a shared love for Farsley, the environment, and growing fruit.

New volunteers are always welcome. Contact farsleyorchard@gmail.com for more information.

Have your say on the future of Armley and Bramley Forums

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Venue: Armley Community Hub

Residents living in Armley and Bramley are being urged to help shape the future of their community forums.

Both Armley and Bramley & Stanningley Community Forums are chaired by local councillors and meet very other month to discuss local issues.

The council’s Inner West Community Committee is looking to review how it runs the forums and is asking people to answer the following questions:

  • Do you attend your local community forum. If not, is there a reason?
  • Would you prefer them online, or in person?
  • Do you have a preferred location for meetings? Daytime or evening?
  • Less or more frequent than bi-monthly?
  • Are there better ways of to communicate with councillors? Are forums needed?

E-mail your responses to Karen McManus at Leeds City Council on karen.mcmanus@leeds.gov.uk.

Why sporty Toby is a Bramley junior parkrun hero

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Toby is a volunteer at Bramley junior parkrun

Words: Vickie Jamieson

Bramley junior parkrun regular Toby has had a busy week collecting badges and awards for his sporting achievements. 

Seven-year-old Toby has been coming to Bramley junior parkrun since July 2021 and since then has become a regular at the weekly events held at Bramley Park each Sunday morning.

Bramley junior parkrun joint event director Danny Hutchinson said:

“Toby is always so enthusiastic, he loves getting involved and is always chatting to everyone, he’s a great ambassador for Bramley junior parkrun and has also encouraged his friends and neighbours to come along and join in.”

Last Sunday Toby earned his marathon award after completing 21 junior parkrun events, the equivalent of running a marathon.

On Tuesday he was awarded his sports badge at Beavers for being active and taking part in sporting events, such as junior parkrun.

Bramley junior parkrun volunteers in Bramley Park.

Toby has also volunteered at junior parkrun helping out with the pre-run warm-up routines. He may get this community spirit from his mum Helen, who also regularly volunteers at junior parkrun, acting as a marshal, clapping and cheering as the children complete the 2km course each week.

Helen said:

“I volunteer at junior parkrun as it’s great to see the kids really enjoying themselves and trying their best. There are so many different ages and abilities which is great to see. Ive also been known to come straight from a night shift to cheer the kids on!!”

To take part in junior parkrun participants needs to register online. Children need to be aged four or over the take part. Bramley junior parkrun is held each Sunday morning at 9am in Bramley Park. You can find out more on Facebook.

For more information on volunteering at Bramley junior parkrun, e-mail the team at bramleyjuniors@parkrun.com.

Workshops give mums a say on breastfeeding your baby in West Leeds

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Venue: Armley Community Hub

Words: Lucy Potter

Are you a mum age 24 and under? Do you live in West Leeds? Are you pregnant or have had your baby in 2021/22?

During March Leeds Bosom Buddies and Women’s Health Matters are holding a series of listening workshops across inner city areas around their feeding experiences or planned feeding choices.

They want to hear from you about your feeding experiences, choices and what you would like to see in Leeds around this.

The aim of the workshops is to help increase the support given to young mums in Leeds and look at removing any barriers to accessing groups in their area. We are hoping to co-produce a better service with the parents of this age we are serving. 

They are offering a shopping voucher for your time and can refund bus fares. Thanks to the generosity of councillors in Armley and Bramley & Stanningley wards in those areas they can offer a lunch/brunch and ‘double the voucher’ incentive.

The dates available are:

Friday 11 March, 12.30 – 2pm, at Chapeltown Children’s Centre, 62 Leopold Street LS7 4AW.

Monday 14 March, 11-12.30pm, at Armley Community Hub, Stocks Hill, Armley LS12 1UQ.

Wednesday 16 March, 10-11.30am, at Bramley Resource Centre, 79 Fairfield Terrace, LS13 3DQ.

Monday 21 March, 11-12.30pm at Gipton South Children’s Centre, Coldcotes Grove, Gipton, LS9 6QJ.

Wednesday 23 March, 11am-12.30pm at Burley Park Children’s Centre, St Matthias Street, LS4 2DZ.

Monday 28 March, 11am-12.30pm at Tenants Hall, Acre Close Middleton LS10 4HX.

Letter: Hold election candidates to account over redesigning streets for people, not cars

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woodhall road crossing calverley 2
A pedestrian crossing on Woodhall Road in Calverley. Photo: Anne Akers

Dear sir,

During the pandemic, many of us rediscovered the simple act of walking – the oldest, cheapest and greenest transport there is. Walking kept us connected to ourselves and to others and helped us to stay healthy and happy. 

Walking is good for our minds, our bodies, and our cities, towns and villages.

But lots of us still struggle with narrow, cluttered, uneven pavements; crossings that prioritise cars rather than people; and growing numbers of speeding vehicles.

It doesn’t have to be like this. That’s why I support the demands Living Streets has made ahead of this year’s elections, calling on candidates to pledge to improve our streets for all, cut air pollution and make walking easier and safer. Visit livingstreets.org.uk/may22 for more info.

Candidates must commit to set Vision Zero targets of significant reductions in people killed and injured on our roads. We call for commitments on default 20mph speed limits in built-up areas, improvements to our crossings and junctions and an increase in the number of low traffic neighbourhoods. One person killed on our roads is one too many. 

It is time we redesigned our streets around people, not cars. That way we can all enjoy the benefits of walking and build healthier, happier communities.

  • Eric Lewis, 14 Castle Grove Drive, Leeds

Butterbowl hits bullseye with national darts contest

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butterbowl pub Farnley
Reopening: the Butterbowl Pub in Farnley. Photo: John Baron/westleedsdispatch.com

The Butterbowl, on Butterbowl Drive in Farnley, has been hosting a local darts competition as part of a nationwide Proper Pubs tournament, which will see the national winner walk away with a £1,000 prize.

71 pubs are taking part in the tournament, with local heats ending last Sunday.

Proper Pubs is the operator managed platform of Hawthorn, The Community Pub Company.

Each pub will run several rounds of the competition at a local level, in which points are tallied up over the six-week preliminaries, before determining a winner who will receive a £50 bar tab for their community Proper Pub. Winners across the country will then come together to battle it out for the grand prize.

The final, set to take place on the 27 March, will be held at the Little Oak in Boughton, Chester, which will be hosting an evening of entertainment as the knockout tournament reaches its climax. 

Matthew Gurney, Operations Director, Proper Pubs, said:

 “Darts is a great sport to bring the community together, so it’s a key component for many of our Proper Pubs. There’s been great engagement from Proper Pubs up and down the country, from Southampton to Fife, and we’ve already seen some exceptional talent on display!”

The Butterbowl re-opened in January after a £67,000 refit.

Will you join first Bramley war graves clean-up of 2022?

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bramley war graves volunteers

Words: Ian Johnstone

Can you spare a couple of hours every other Wednesday to join a dedicated group of volunteers in this worthwhile cause to keep war graves tidy in Bramley?

The next Bramley Baptist War Graves clean-up session is Wednesday, 2 March at 12.30pm.

The volunteer organisers have the equipment, all you would need is suitable footwear and a warm coat, depending on the weather.

Read WLD‘s ongoing coverage of this group here.

Ten concerts bring summer music to parks in Calverley, Farsley, Farnley, Pudsey and Wortley

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Pudsey Park will host one event. Photo: John Baron/westleedsdispatch.com

The popular annual bands in then park events are returning for 2022, council chiefs have confirmed.

The concerts have been funded by councillors on the outer west community committee and will provide a variety of different music to suit all tastes on selected Sundays from 2.30pm.

Farnley Hall Park

5 June – Soundtrack Brass

10 July – Barnsley Metropolitan Band

Pudsey Park

31 July – Elland Silver Band

21 August – Noteability Concert Band

28 August – Clifton and Lightcliffe Band

Victoria Park, Calverley

17 July – James Farrell Concert Band

14 August – Grange Moor Brass Band

Western Flatts/Cliff Park, Wortley

26 June – Friendly Band

7 August – Cawthorne Brass Band

Westroyd Park, Farsley

24 July – Clifton and Lightcliffe ‘B’ Band

Read more of WLD’s coverage of the Outer West Community Committee here.

The Outer West Community Committee is made up of nine councillors – three from each from Calverley & Farsley, Farnley & Wortley and Pudsey wards. The committee consists of five Conservative councillors, three Green and one Labour.

Farsley Celtic to show support for Ukraine at Bradford Park Avenue match

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Photo: John McEvoy

Words: Thomas Ritchie

Farsley Celtic will be joining Bradford Park Avenue in showing support for Ukraine during Wednesday’s game at the Horsfall Stadium.

Bradford is home to the largest Ukrainian population in the United Kingdom outside of London, and they are encouraging supporters to display their solidarity with Ukraine on Wednesday.

There will be a minute’s applause in the 30th minute, marking Ukraine’s 30 years as an independent nation.

There will also be a bucket collection at the Horsfall Stadium, run in conjunction with the Bradford Ukie Club, in support of the Help Ukraine Emergency Appeal.

You can also donate to the Help Ukraine Emergency Appeal here.