Swinnow Community Centre is broadening its offer with a series of high-quality evening events, designed to bring new cultural and social opportunities to Swinnow, Pudsey and the surrounding areas.
The initiative aims to reach those who are unable to attend the centre’s popular daytime activities, offering engaging experiences outside of traditional hours.
The first event in the series will be a Spanish Night on 27 September, celebrating the food, music, and dance of Spain.
Guests will enjoy a rustic two-course menu featuring albondigas(Spanish meatballs in a rich tomato reduction), pollo con chorizo (chicken baked with authentic chorizo), patatas bravas, and escalivada (roasted red pepper and aubergine in a slow-cooked tomato sauce). The evening will also feature a live DJ set with Latin rhythms and a salsa taster session.
Future events will continue to explore different cultures, with themes such as Greek nights and pop-up restaurants, developed in collaboration with local professional chefs and DJs. Each evening will be volunteer-led but delivered to a high standard, ensuring a memorable experience that combines community spirit with cultural excellence.
Director Will Munton said: “We want to create vibrant and atmospheric, events that are local, affordable and fun, We are excited to work with local catering and entertainment professionals to create something very special for the area.
“By diversifying its programme in this way, Swinnow Community Centre is reaffirming its role as a vibrant hub for the community, bringing people together through shared experiences, and ensuring that more residents have access to what their local centre has to offer.”
A 2020 view of a new housing scheme currently taking shape at a site off Moorfield Road in Armley, Leeds. Credit: Termrim Construction
A new housing development in Armley is set to welcome its first residents.
The development of 27 houses and 23 apartments – all of which are being made available for affordable or social rent – has been taking shape on the former Tower Works factory site off Moorfield Road in Armley since the middle of last year.
The first five homes are now finished and ready for local residents to move in.
The development as a whole – which is being delivered by Yorkshire Housing and Termrim Construction with support from Leeds City Council and Homes England – is due for completion by the end of this year.
The new homes will range in size from one to four bedrooms and are being built to exacting energy efficiency standards, with features including solar panels. Each apartment will also benefit from smart hot water tanks that can – by ‘learning’ how much hot water people use and when – help reduce energy bills.
All initial tenancies – and 60 per cent of future lets – will go to people on the council’s housing register. Eighteen of the homes will be available for social rent, the most affordable tenure.
In addition to providing much-needed additional housing options, the scheme is also benefiting the Armley community by breathing new life into a site that stood vacant and derelict for a number of years following the demolition of the old Tower Works factory.
Councillor Jess Lennox, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said: “Schemes like the one taking shape at Moorfield Road can have a transformative effect on people’s lives, so it’s really good news that its first homes have been completed and tenants can now start moving in.
“The development is a brilliant example of what can be achieved through partnership working, and also underlines our determination as a council to support the delivery of high-quality, energy efficient and affordable housing in areas across the city.
“I’m particularly pleased that so many of the homes at Moorfield Road will be available for social rent, which will give a helping hand to those on lower incomes.”
The council is committing an affordable housing grant of £750,000 to the Moorfield Road project.
Around 2,900 affordable homes have been delivered in Leeds over the last five years, more than in any other large city in the country outside London.
That figure includes 788 homes that were directly delivered by the council. It also includes around 400 homes that were built by registered providers such as housing associations but facilitated by the use of council land and funding.
A combination of council, registered provider and private sector activity, meanwhile, is projected to deliver an average of more than 800 affordable homes in the city over each of the next three years.
The term ‘affordable housing’ refers to homes that are available for rent at below market value or low-cost ownership. When affordable housing is made available for rent, potential tenures include ‘affordable’ and ‘social’. Affordable rent is discounted by at least 20 per cent from the prevailing local market rate. Social rent is lower than affordable rent and set by a formula tied to local incomes, property size and property value.
Mia, eight, and Irene, nine, take part in the treasure hunt in Burley Park. Photo: Angela Harrison
By Angela Harrison
On a sunny and warm late summer Saturday afternoon, the Friends of Burley Park celebrated the 125th anniversary since the park was opened on 8 September, 1900.
Families and friends of all ages were gathered on the lawns with their picnics and taking in the live bands who were performing in the ‘bandstand’ (which is not really a bandstand, but more on that later!).
Vijay Parmar (left) with Malcolm Zielinski, who was born in Burley after his father moved to England from Poland after WW2. Photo: Angela Harrison
Local bands at the event included:
The King & I – a jazz-tinged style from swing to blues, latin and ska.
The Peace Artistes – folk, jazz, world music.
Hands Across Ceilidh Band – a range of British, Irish and European dances.
A treasure hunt had been laid out around the park and proved very popular with the children.
The Friends of Burley Park had set up several stalls, each selling homemade jams and baked goods to raise funds to help cover the cost of running the anniversary event.
A picnic at the park. Photo: Angela Harrison
John Preston, the funding officer of the group, said it was a lovely turnout of the community attending the event. There were hundreds of people coming and going throughout the afternoon.
The park is very much loved by those who use it and is taken care of by volunteers from the Friends of Burley Park, who created orchards around 11 years ago. The orchards line the bottom end of the park and provide the community with free apples, damsons and pears.
Volunteers meet every second Sunday of the month to tend to the orchards and flower beds.
When the park was created in 1900, it provided a much needed recreational space for all, and it still does, as originally intended.
It offers a tennis and basketball court, space to play football, a bowling green, outdoor gym equipment, a running circuit, playground, and is also a great place for walking your dogs!
David and Shirley from Headingley. They came to Leeds as students 50 years ago and settled here. Photo: Angela Harrison
History of Burley Park
The area of land – spanning 14.5 acres – was purchased in 1899 by the Leeds Corporation, and opened the following year as a recreational ground on 8 September, 1900.
Prior to this, the area was farmland and owned by the Earl of Cardigan and divided into plots which were occupied by soon-to-be prominent figures in Leeds: Thomas Backhouse, William Cockerham, and Edwin Birchall Esq.
The gardeners cottage from 1952. Photo Leodis/Leeds Libraries and the cottage today.
From 1845 the upper half of the land was a cricket ground before the land was all purchased by Leeds Corporation.
At a deputation for the Corporation it was heard that a park was needed for the ever-growing population of Burley, and the land was ideally situated between three schools. The children of Burley had nowhere to play except on the streets, and a park would be a great benefit to children and adults.
When it was opened to the public on 8 September 1900, there was a sandpit, play equipment, a bowling green, and a cricket pitch.
There was a bandstand but 50 years later it was gone.
Today, there is a former shelter that looks like a bandstand, and is used as one.
John Preston, of the Friends of Burley Park, said that it was an “old man’s shelter” and 35 years ago it had roller shutters around it, with a stove in the centre to keep warm!
Main gates from the early 1900s – credit Leodis/Leeds Civic Trust and today.
Back in the days when the park was first opened, there were urinals dotted around the land for men to use, and thankfully women had a toilet block, which is located next door to the old Head Gardener’s House (now a house).
The Victorians created a lovely space which is still well looked after today, 125 years later.
The people of Leeds will continue to enjoy it for generations to come.
Pictured at the blue plaque unveiling (from left) are former Leeds United stars Noel Whelen, Paul Reaney and Stuart McCall.
Photo: John Baron/westleedsdispoatch.com
By John Baron. Additional reporting: Katherine Turner
The ‘dedication and persistence’ of a West Leeds community who ‘dug in’ to save a historic sports pitch from housing has been celebrated at a special ceremony.
A blue plaque was today (Saturday, 6 September) unveiled at the TV Harrison Sports Ground in Wortley by former Leeds United stars Paul Reaney, Stuart McCall and Noel Whelan. All three started their careers playing at the ground as youngsters.
Some of the attendees at Wortley’s Wembley today. Photo: John Baron
Generations of young players from the city started at the TV Harrison Sports Ground, which is also known as ‘Wortley’s Wembley’. The ground is named after teacher Tom Vernon Harrison, who led a fundraising campaign in 1928 for it to be purchased for the benefit of children in the city.
It was saved from being developed for local authority housing thanks to a concerted community campaign which ran for over six years.
The ground was this year bought by Leeds United, who today pledged to honour and create ‘the most incredible football facility’.
More than 150 people attended the unveiling of a blue plaque to mark both the history on the community efforts to maintain the facility.
Leeds Civic Trust’s Martin Hamilton opened proceedings. Photo: John Baron
Leeds Civic Trust Director Martin Hamilton said the blue plaque not only marked the significance of place, but also the ‘persistence and dedication’ of ‘local people who through their hard work have ensured that this piece of land has not has not be lost for sport’.
He said organised sport has been played at the location since the 1850s, and added: “Sports facilities like this have often been lost for housing development. The story of this plaque shows that local sports facilities are hard to establish and even harder to retain.
“Hats off to Mr Harrison who saved this long established facility in the 1920s and to campaigners more recently who have secured its long-term future,” Mr Hamilton added.
Former Leeds West MP Michael Meadowcroft. Photo: John Baron
He said: “This ceremony marks a key point in the six and a half years of local campaigning to prevent the charity charged with protecting the ground and Leeds City Council building on an historic sports ground. It demonstrates the power of united community action.
“Quite apart from the heavy task of clearing the football pitch and maintaining it for regular matches, it also took four successful actions in the High Court at great financial risk to this voluntary body.
“The key involvement of Leeds United in taking over the ground has been crucial and has saved us from a potential fifth legal action. The blue plaque not only pays tribute to Tom Vernon Harrison and the history of the ground but also demonstrates the power of united community action.
“Our association now looks forward to working with LUFC in making the ground a vibrant successful sports facility for local children and youths.”
Leeds Civic Trust’s Martin Hamilton, Noel Whelan, Paul Reaney, Stuart McCall, Mark Sewards MP and Michael Meadowcroft with the plaque
Leeds South West and Morley MP Mark Sewards said the unveiling signified ‘a victory for the local community’
“Without the action of the community, we would not be standing here today,” he said. “It wasn’t just the essential legal action, it was all the work you have done to maintain the ground, to find teams to play on it and restore it in the way that you have. I want to congratulate everyone for their work.”
Former players unveil the plaque. Photo: John Baron
Mr Sewards had been been part of negotiations with Leeds United to buy the land. He added: “I have had many a sleepless night over the past three years and I am very very pleased to see us in this position, where a Premier League football club is investing in a facility for the community of Wortley and the whole city. I’m excited for the future.”
Francis Milner, Leeds United Foundation chief executive, said: “The community have really fought to keep the site for local children.
“I feel really excited that we are going to be taking forward the incredible legacy of Tom Harrison and the people who have worked so hard over the years to keep that legacy alive. As a foundation we are passionate about getting every Leeds child to be able to access football.”
Ms Milner said the Foundation will be working to tidy the ground in the next few months. The second phase of work will include the creation of ‘the most incredible football facility’, featuring a pitch and wider facilities which could be used by the community.
“We want so many boys and girls playing in this facility. We want kids in every day of the week and we can create something which is really wonderful for our community and the people of Leeds.
“Because of you we can take forward the wonderful legacy of Tom Harrison.”
Paul Reaney speaks at the unveiling. Photo: Katherine Turner
Leeds United legend Paul Reaney played at the TV Harrison ground for Leeds City Boys in the late 1950s and said itv played a major part in his football education.
“It was an amazing feeling to play here,” the former Leeds defender told the crowd. A year later he joined Leeds United to continue his footballing journey with the likes of John Charles, Bobby Collins and ‘the gaffer’, Don Revie.
“I ended up playing for England because I played for Leeds United. And before that I played for Leeds City Boys at the TV Harrison ground.”
Community joy. Photo: Clare Pollard
Attending the blue plaque unveiling was Councillor Adrian McCluskey (Lab, Farnley & Wortley). He told WLD: “Today showed what the community of Wortley can do together.
“This not only recognises all those children who played on the ground, some of whom went on to play at a professional level, such as Paul Reaney, Noel Whelan and Stuart McCall, but those in our community who dug in to save the ground from housing development.
“But the is not just about the past, it’s also about the future and what is about to be developed by Leeds Utd. This will be a major investment and attraction for the people of Wortley and across our city.”
The three former professional footballers with the plaque. Photo: Clare Pollard
Plaque wording
A place for organised sport since the 1850s. The ground is named after local teacher Tom Vernon Harrison who led a successful appeal in 1928 for its purchase by public subscription for the children of Leeds. Following a local campaign against redevelopment, the Leeds United Foundation bought the ground in 2025, thus securing its future for community sport.
Every fortnight we publish a list of the latest licensing applications related to the seven council wards in the West Leeds Dispatch patch.
The council’s licensing department regulates activities that require a licence, such as selling alcohol, providing entertainment, event notices and taxi licence applications. They also ensure that licensed premises and individuals comply with the law and protect the public
The following licensing application was published on the Leeds City Council website in the past 14 days:
Calverley & Farsley Ward
Temporary Event Notice, Cafe Within Garden Centre, Palmer Plants And Palmer Landscapes, John Palmer Nursery, Calverley Lane, Farsley, Pudsey LS28 5QQ.
The Great British Bake-Off is back on our screens on Tuesday evenings, but there’s one group of fans who will have to watch it on catch-up.
They are the cast of The Great British Bake-Off Musical! The show has its regional premiere next Thursday, September 11 at the Carriageworks Theatre in Millennium Square.
Led by Musical Director Wil Jones and Director and Choreographer Dean Patrick, these talented, dedicated Bake-Off fans have spent many an evening and weekend in rehearsal rooms in Bramley or Holbeck, working on their all singing, all dancing version of the nation’s favourite baking show.
If you’ve seen them out and about at the Trinity Centre or The Light, or heard them on BBC Leeds, you know that Leeds is in for a treat.
At a rehearsal at St Peter’s Church, it was a case of snatching a few words with whoever was free. In a brief gap between singing practice with Wil and a tap number with Dean, ensemble members Holly and Kaly described how they combine singing, dancing and moving props between scenes.
If you love a stage musical, you know such slick switches are part of the pleasure of a live show!
Emma Smith and Dan Lord play Francesca and Ben, two of the bakers, and their characters’ back stories and particular hopes made me want to know more.
I also look forward to Kazia Gamble’s ‘Babs’, a grandmother to be reckoned with, though not a tap dancer – to Kazia’s disappointment. No spoilers though: if you want to know more about Francesca, Ben and Babs, or ‘back-up contestant’ Gemma, played by Katie Mitchell, and the rest of the Bakers, you’ll need to get down to The Carriageworks next weekend!
The other grandmother in this show is front and centre in the tap number. Angela Fisher is really enjoying Prue Pam because she gets to act, sing and dance. “And she’s got some really cracking lines as well.”
She also needs a cracking wardrobe: six changes, some of them very quick, and all in that signature style. While it’s been straightforward for most of the cast to source their own costumes for this contemporary show, Angela has spent hours studying photos, and searching in shops and online for costumes and jewellery.
In fact, Angela and best mate Dan Ford, who plays Ben, have, resorted to a spreadsheet to co-ordinate ‘Pam’ ensembles, “Does that go with that? Does that go with that?” Angela smiles broadly. “It will be great fun,” she declares, over the song belting out behind us.
Opposite Angela’s ‘Pam’, of course, there’s Scouse baking legend ‘Phil’, played by Otley Bellman Terry Ford. How was Terry finding the role? He answers with a wry smile: “Well, it’s quite a surprise for a Geordie, trying to do a Liverpudlian accent. I’m getting there.”
The other challenge is that Phil is written for a tenor, and Terry is a bass but, fortunately, he has the range and training to adapt.
Unlike Angela, who was on stage at the Bradford Alhambra at the age of nine, Terry got no musical encouragement as a child. He was 40 before he discovered the fun of musical theatre through a local group, and started developing his fine voice with a teacher.
Until then, “I didn’t think it was any good. I knew it was loud.” Loud enough to win Eisteddfods, become a champion town crier, and played leading musical theatre roles for decades. We should all be able to hear Phil at the back.
The Great British Bake-Off Musical brings the beloved baking competition to life, blending the charm and humour of the TV show with catchy tunes and recognisable characters.
It’s an entertaining and heartwarming celebration of baking, self-discovery, and the joy of community. Whether you’re a fan of the show or simply love a good musical, this is a theatrical treat that promises to rise to the occasion.
You can still book tickets for this regional premiere at the Carriageworks Theatre. But be quick! Limited tickets remain on Thursday 11 September at 7.15pm, Friday 12 September at 7.15pm and Saturday 13 September at 1pm and 5pm.
The Great British Bake-Off Musical will be live on stage at the Carriageworks Theatre, Millennium Square next week, September 11-13.
This will be the Regional Community Premiere – for the whole middle of the country from Middlesbrough to Nottingham – directed by Dean Patrick.
Many will know Dean from Leeds 2023, when he curated Bramley’s Cultural Collective, whose success he translated into the independent annual Bramley Community Arts Festival.
The festival packed out St Peter’s Church, Bramley Villagers and Bramley Baths last July, and returns on September 20-21 this year. Dean has actually come full circle, from doing his first panto with Bramley Parish Theatre Players at St Margaret’s Church before he was ten, to directing and choreographing BPTP’s annual pantos. (Look out for news of the next one: Puss in Boots!)
Also, having worked his way through LAMDA grades (London Academy of Dramatic Arts) as a boy, then trained in London and worked professionally up and down the country, he now leads Class Act Youth Theatre at Trinity Methodist Church, mentoring the next generation of performers.
But why community theatre rather than professional theatre? And why Leeds?
“What drew me to Leeds 2023 was the Bramley/Stanningley thing. When you work with communities, with people who come from all walks of life to be part of a show, there’s a different dynamic.
“A lot of professionals will work on similar arts projects from Birmingham to Leeds to Bradford. Quite a lot of people I worked with in Leeds went straight on to Bradford but I thought, if we’re doing something, it should be made by the people from here, for all the people from here.
“And, you know, I identify with Leeds, and being from Leeds, and champion everything that happens in Leeds. The whole point of the Year of Culture – particularly the projects I worked on – was to try to connect with people from the area, and happen in the area, and I kind of take that with me wherever I go.”
And why The Great British Bake-Off Musical?
“Because it’s about trying to put Leeds on the map. This is the conversation I had with the Carriageworks and Leeds City Council. Everyone knows the Bake-Off, so putting Bake-Off on in the city centre has the potential to attract people who aren’t from the area. And those people may return because they think, well, I only went for the Bake-Off, but they do all these other things.
“It also puts the theatre on the map. The Carriageworks is a bit of a hidden gem. You talk to a lot of people and they don’t know it’s there (in the Electric Press building on Millennium Square). And I’m like, it’s a council-owned facility, that’s for the Leeds community – primarily for community theatre.”
He had hoped to stage the national community (amateur) premiere, but the dates would not work.
“It was a chicken and egg situation: I needed to secure the performance rights to book the theatre but I needed to have the theatre booked to get the rights.”
However, this is the first production of the musical outside of London in a very large radius of the country – and at the heart of Yorkshire!
It’s taken four years of effort and patience to get to this point, and Dean is funding the show himself. He has gathered a cast of very talented and experienced actors – amateurs in the best sense of the word – and Musical Director Wil Jones has brought in professional musicians.
“The production has just got to pay for itself. That’s what we’re trying to do here. The thing is, it’s never been about me. It’s about everybody else. It all comes down to the cast on the night! I’m never going to be rich. It’s a passion. People and theatre.
“Coming back to where you’re asking me about Bramley – if I’m gonna do it, it’s about, you know, hiring spaces like this (The Bede Room in St Peter’s) and keeping them in existence and making and creating in Bramley. That’s why we pay to hire The Villagers, to benefit locals, you know? Whatever I do … Bramley’s just a part of me and, fundamentally, it would always be my starting point, really.
Armley Library is hosting a session to create an inspiring new tapestry that will become a lasting part of the city’s cultural heritage.
As part of the national campaign Our Freedom: Then and Now, the Threads of Freedom project has received funding to work with communities across the city to produce a collaborative textile artwork. This new piece will be displayed alongside the Leeds Tapestry on the first floor of Leeds Central Library.
This new piece will reflect the voices and creativity of Leeds communities, exploring what freedom means today – 80 years after the end of the Second World War. Everyone is welcome to take part in this meaningful opportunity to contribute to a permanent work of community art.
A series of free workshops are taking place across Leeds during September and October, offering different ways to engage with the campaign.
The Storytelling with Fabric and Thread workshops, led by artists Hayley Mills-Styles and Elnaz Yazdani, will guide participants in creating embroidered, patchworked, and embellished textile pieces inspired by Leeds’ history and photographic archives.
Also part of the Threads of Freedom programme are three Make Do & Mend sessions. Skill Share in the Art Library will see a group of artists share traditional textile repair techniques, whilst artist Lorna Johnston will deliver sessions on woven and honeycomb darning. These sessions have proven very popular, but those interested can join the waiting list.
The final tapestry will include a selection of artwork produced during the project. These workshops are being held at locations including Leeds Central Library, Moor Allerton Library, Seacroft Community Hub, Yeadon Library, and Armley Library. The Armley library session takes place on Monday, 22 September 2025, at 2pm.
Visit TicketSource for full details of all events and to book your place.
The project will conclude with a celebration at Leeds Central Library for those who have participated, co-created with artists and community groups.
Emma Hayton, Art Librarian, said: “It’s so wonderful to be able to work with the people of Leeds to add an updated companion piece to the already much-loved Leeds Tapestry. We’ve been spending time with different community groups looking at our collections together, and the city-wide programme is shaping up nicely. Come along to one of our events in Leeds Central Library and get involved!”
The Leeds Libraries project is one of 60 community-led commissions across the UK forming part of Our Freedom: Then and Now, a national programme supported by Arts Council England. The campaign commemorates the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day by inviting communities to reflect on the past and reimagine the future through creativity.
Police in West Leeds are appealing for information on motorbike theft and anti-social use of bikes and e-vehicles.
The Leeds West Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) has launched Operation Bradebank to tackle the theft of and anti-social/criminal use of motor bikes and e-vehicles.
An NPT West spokesperson said police need to increase our intelligence in relation to the following:
1. Where are the vehicles being kept when not in use? 2. Who is using them? 3. Where are the areas they are regularly frequenting or cutting through?
A spokesperson added: “It is worth noting that with the exception of Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles, these vehicles cannot be used lawfully on public roads and pavements, for example an e-scooter on a pavement/road would potentially be an offence of driving not in accordance of licence and insurance.”
Information can be passed to WYP via 101 or live chat.
Man About Town at the James McKenna Community Hub in Armley. Photo: Jeremy Kapp
By Helen Fay
The Man About Town Music Group is set to bring some classic tunes to two West Leeds festivals in September.
The group will be playing at New Wortley Festival this Saturday (6 September) and at Armley Festival on the following Saturday (13 September).
The New Wortley Festival will take place at Oak Road Recreational Ground in Armley – known locally as ‘Jailey Fields’. The festival runs from 12pm-3pm and the group will be playing from 2pm.
Photo by Jonny Grimes
The music group holds practice sessions every Wednesday morning at the James McKenna Community Hub in Redshaw Road, Armley. They have been meeting there since early July after approaching rugby stalwart Sam Horner and fellow trustees of West Leeds ARLFC, when the group had to leave their previous base.
Man About Town is a men’s mental health project and has been running for just over five years.
The project also runs a Sunday morning walking group.
During one of the Sunday walks that took place during Covid, one participant said he could teach other members to play ukulele. The challenge was duly accepted and a weekly ukulele group was born, meeting outside at an allotment in Woodhouse.
Photo by Jonny Grimes
Four years on and the group has grown and diversified with members playing guitars, ukuleles, percussion and keyboard. Some of the members started from scratch, having never picked a musical instrument up before to becoming increasingly proficient at playing music.
The group has grown in confidence and has played a number of gigs including Unity Day, the Cloth Cat open mic, the communication café at New Wortley Community Centre, Armley Helping Hands Beach Party, Armley Festival and a charity fundraiser at Holy Trinity Church in Ripon.
To find out further information about the music group and the walking group, contact Jonathan Parker by e-mail at info@creativeframe.org.uk. There is also a Facebook page that lists upcoming events.
New Wortley Community Centre is throwing their much-awaited summer bash this Saturday, 6 September!
Swing by Jailey Field (Oak Road Rec, LS12 2UB) between 12pm and 3pm for a whirlwind of fun for all children and adults alike!
Expect a marvellous tombola, a kids’ talent extravaganza, stalls galore, face painting, henna artistry, a bike bonanza, toe-tapping live music, scrumptious homemade food and much more.
