A group of Farnley volunteers have been boosted in their efforts to make face masks for front line workers after receiving a donation of fabric bundles from Aldi.
Volunteers at Scrub Hub, a number of whom are based in Farnley, have been putting their sewing skills to good use to create scrubs and face coverings for local NHS and not-for-profit organisations.
Aldi has reached out to provide 100 of its Fat Quarter fabric bundles so that they can keep producing the items.
The donation follows the government’s announcement that it will be compulsory to wear face masks on public transport, ensuring Scrub Hub Leeds can provide masks to more key workers in the area so that they can get into work safely.
Items including scrubs, ear guards, face coverings and laundry bags are all made to order by the experienced and professional volunteers.
Lenka Kupkova, from Scrub Hub in Leeds, said:
“We’re incredibly grateful to Aldi for their support and generosity, which will enable us to create even more protective face coverings to help keep our community safe.”
Items including scrubs, ear guards, face coverings and laundry bags are all made to order by the experienced and professional volunteers.
Richard Thornton, Communications Director at Aldi UK, said:
“We’ve been touched by the kind-heartedness and community spirit shown by Scrub Hubs across the country, and wanted to make a small gesture of support to thank members of Scrub Hub Leeds for their selfless efforts. We hope this will encourage them to keep up their fantastic work.”
Aldi has worked with The Big Community Sew, an initiative that is encouraging people to make their own face coverings for friends, family and neighbours at home, to offer a handy guide to making your own masks.
Pictured, top, is Farnley Scrub Hub volunteer Victoria.
Plans for more than 100 homes on a greenfield site in New Farnley appear to be no closer to receiving the green light, as council planners and the developer continue to discuss the proposals.
Developer Redrow already has outline permission to develop the site off Whitehall Road and submitted detailed plans last September, which include internal road layouts and housing design.
Redrow recently revised its plans from 126 houses on the site down to a total of 121 units, comprising 117 houses and one block of four flats.
The latest report published by council planning officers says the site has been allocated for housing in the council’s Site Allocation Plan blueprint and that development is supported in principle, subject to all other material planning considerations.
But the report – by principal planner Sarah Hellewell – raises a number of points which Redrow will still need to meet if they’re to achieve full planning approval.
Ms Hellewell says the mix of housing types earmarked for the site have not yet changed sufficiently to be considered acceptable. She adds:
“At this stage as the housing mix is not considered acceptable then the affordable housing breakdown cannot be agreed.”
Developers have also been told there is not enough on-site green space and that the proposals will need to change again before they are supported.
In March, more than 80 people packed into New Farnley Community Centre to debate the proposals with council planning officers. The plans attracted hundreds of objections at outline planning stage.
Leeds theatre company The Performance Ensemble is on a quest to grow its company and gather 1,000 stories from the city’s older population that will ultimately create a piece of theatre for the Leeds Cultural Festival in 2023.
The Performance Ensemble is a company of performers over the age of 60; they create high quality contemporary performances from their own life experiences.
They are now looking to recruit new members and collect more stories that will help them create unique performance events with the experience of age.
“We are actively looking for new members to join The Performance Ensemble,” explains Artistic Director Alan Lyddiard.
“There is no prerequisite – you don’t have to have experience in theatre or the arts, but you must be over 60 years old.”
Some of the company members work as actors, writers, and dancers but others joined the company as a first-time experience; all are from a range of different backgrounds and diverse cultures.
“We celebrate the fullness of life and explore vulnerability, resilience, and ageing,” Alan continues.
“I want to work with people in what I call ‘the space between professional, amateur and community arts practice’, concentrating on shared knowledge and experience; when you are older you have many things to contribute and each of us will learn from the other.”
Alan was a theatre and film director for 40 years and formed The Performance Ensemble in 2014 when he was 65. It now has a core company of 35 people and a wider membership of over 100.
“I don’t think the desire to create work and discover new things ever goes away,” he concludes.
“And that is why I started The Ensemble – I want to explore new ways to create theatre and engage with others.”
Earlier today90 academics signed an open letter calling on Leeds City Council to block the plans for a new terminal at Leeds Bradford International Airport. Here, airport supporter Ross Bailey, of Fernbank Road, Rodley, encourages people to show their support for the scheme.
Many of you will be aware of the current planning application by Leeds Bradford Airport to invest £150m in constructing a new, efficient and carbon neutral terminal by 2023, which will secure the long term future of the airport and the jobs it supports.
This will also greatly increase the GDP contribution to the city and wider region in the post Covid 19 era, when the local economy will need to recover.
A £150m investment in the airport and the region it serves is a significant step towards this.
This is NOT an application to increase passengers. The previously approved growth to 7m passengers per year by 2030 is unaffected and not changing.
The terminal will be funded entirely by the airport owners, not through public funds.
Contrary to what certain local and national anti-aviation groups claim – like GALBA and Extinction Rebellion – there is no change in flying hours either. LBA is already a 24-hour airport.
The application includes a request to amend the defined night-time hours to those in use at other UK airports (2330 – 0600) so that daytime/night time at LBA is the same as it is elsewhere. Aircraft noise restrictions and the hours they are in force (2300 – 0700) do not change.
Until 16th June you have the opportunity to express your support with Leeds City Council.
More support is needed to demonstrate to planners that the majority support this application and wish to see the airport as one the city, and the region, can be proud of.
The core of the current terminal is 55 years old.
It has to be replaced soon to provide passengers with the space expected today and, crucially, to meet the demanding standards for emissions, disabled access, security, border force control, baggage re-claim and general facilities such as check-in, toilet provision and retail.
So please – if you value LBA and want to see it survive after Covid19 in the longer term, and offer the services to Leeds, Bradford and the whole of the region that we deserve in a new BREEAM Excellent terminal, don’t waste the chance to add your support urgently.
Please also ask all your friends, work colleges and neighbours to do the same via Leeds City Council on their planning portal. It is vital now more than ever.
It is YOUR airport, so help to secure its future and the jobs of the people who work there.
You can add your support on the Leeds.Gov website under Planning Applications. The reference is 20/02559/FU. If you don’t have an account with the council you will need to register first.
Remember you have one more week, but please, do it now. Don’t delay. I have also attached a fact sheet which has been produced by Leeds/Bradford Airport.
90 academics have signed an open letter calling on Leeds City Council to block the plans for a new terminal at Leeds Bradford International Airport. The letter was sent to West Leeds Dispatch by Bramley-based academic and environmental campaigner Paul Chatterton.
UPDATE:People have also today been encouraged to support the plansfor a carbon neutral terminal by 2023, which will secure the long term future of the airport and the jobs it supports.
An economic recovery based on sustainability is the only way we can address the post Covid-19 challenges ahead – and the wider challenge of climate change.
We call on Leeds City Council to lead the way, and reject the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport
The Covid-19 epidemic has exposed just how vulnerable we are as individuals and as a society. It has caused immense suffering, pushed our health service to the brink and shredded our economy. It is an unmitigated human disaster. But the next crisis, the climate crisis, will be far worse, unless we make the right decisions now.
Huge investment is needed to get the economy back on its feet, but we simply cannot afford to return to ‘business as usual’. We cannot afford to prop up the carbon emitting industries that will hasten climate breakdown. We need a low-carbon recovery supported by central government.
But we also call on Yorkshire councils, unions and businesses to take the lead. In Leeds, the City Council can start by rejecting the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA), an expansion that would double carbon emissions from flights, and make it impossible for the city to meet its carbon reduction target.
LBA does not represent value for money in terms of an employment centre. Larger employment gains, as well as other benefits, are more likely to be created from investing in the local economy.
While LBA’s owners have consistently drawn attention to the low carbon credentials of the new terminal building, this is a ‘grain of sand’ compared to greenhouse gas emissions from the aircraft.
And now researchers at Leeds University have found that the planning application submitted by LBA has grossly minimised the impact of aircraft emissions – by at least a factor of 4.
This has been achieved by:
1. Looking at departures only, and ignoring arrivals, for the proposed extra flights, so half of the passengers have been omitted,
2. Not accounting at all for the large global warming effect of non-CO2 emissions at altitude;
4. Ignoring the cumulative effect of emissions beyond 2030, despite CO2 staying in the atmosphere for many decades
5. Omitting international flights (more than 90% of the flight emissions associated with LBA) when comparing them to national carbon targets and to the Leeds Zero Carbon Roadmap;
6. Exaggerating future efficiency improvements in aviation compared to what the UK Committee on Climate Change considers plausible.
There are no low-emission aviation technologies available now, and none will be available within the timescales available to combat climate breakdown, meaning that any expansion of aviation goes against the UK’s net-zero goal.
As Leeds North West MP Alex Sobel has stated: “A net increase of pollution from the airport due to an increase of flights will undermine the city in its policy to meet net zero carbon by 2030 and will impact the air quality.”
Instead, we need to invest in a fairer, local and sustainable economy – one that can safeguard our long-term future.
Many projects, such as home insulation and electric charging points, are ready to go and they have been shown to create more jobs, deliver higher returns and lead to increased long-term cost savings.
Leeds City Council could provide support and funding for co-operatives and community businesses in activities such as renewables and home retrofit.
These offer the potential for large employment gains and will address inequalities by locking wealth into inner city communities. If employment is localised, then travel to work will be minimised and this would also address other pressing issues around air quality and public health issues around inactivity.
By contrast, LBA does not offer these benefits nor represent value for money. There is also very limited evidence that the airport site offers any kind of trickle down or local economic benefit. The associated transport infrastructure is incomplete, poorly sited and likely to produce greater reliance on car based journeys.
It is no exaggeration to say that the decisions we make in the next few months will have a profound impact on our lives, and those of our children, for thousands of years.
A low-carbon economic recovery can repair the economic damage done by Covid-19 and put the world on track to tackle climate breakdown. This is a pivotal moment and we urge central and local government to put sustainability at the heart of the post Covid recovery.
Signatories
Professor Julia Steinberger, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds.
Professor Paul Chatterton, School Geography, University of Leeds.
MSc Jefim Vogel, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Declan Finney, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Milena Buchs, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds
Professor Barbara Evans, School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds
Dr Ben Rabb, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Marina Baldissera Pacchetti, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Professor Robert Vanderbeck, School of Geography, University of Leeds
Dr. Miklós Antal, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds.
Dr Katy Roelich, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Mark Davis, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds
Dr David Williams, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Professor Daivd York, FREng, School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds
Dr Jennifer Fletcher, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Valerie Dupont, School of chemical and process engineering, the University of Leeds
Dr Christian Maerz, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Diana Ivanova, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Professor Oliver Phillips FRS, School of Geography, University of Leeds
Dr Noel Cass, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Adam Booth, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Andy Emery, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Siân Evans, Research & Innovation Service, University of Leeds
Dr James Smith, School of Food Science & Nutrition, University of Leeds.
Dr Sarah Chapman, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Rory Padfield, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Katy Wright, School of Sociology & Social Policy, University of Leeds
Professor Megan Povey, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds
Dr Gesa Reiss, School of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds
Dr Charlotte Evans, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds
Dr George Holmes, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Tom Haines-Doran, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Martin Dallimer, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Professor Mike Kirkby, School of Geography, University of Leeds.
Professor Greg Marsden, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds.
Mr Robert Newton, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Draško Kašćelan, School of Languages, Cultures and Societies, University of Leeds
Professor Simon L. Lewis, School of Geography, University of Leeds.
Dr Aisling Dolan, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Professor Nick Malleson, School of Geography, University of Leeds
Dr Sally Russell, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Dominic O’Key, School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, University of Leeds
Dr Natasha Mortimer, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Professor Andy Challinor, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Sarah Batterman, School of Geography, University of Leeds
Professor Julia Martin-Ortega, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Cat Scott, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
PhD Charlotte Weaver, School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds
Dr Ann-Kristin Koehler, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Professor Mike Pilling, School of Chemistry, University of Leeds
Dr Lucie Middlemiss, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Professor Alan Mackie, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds
Anna Lewandowska, Research & Innovation Service, University of Leeds
Kara Hazelgrave, Research & Innovation Service, University of Leeds
Dr Chris Smith, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Natasha Barlow, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Seb O’Connor, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds
Dr Jonathan Busch, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds
Julia Ankenbrand, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds
Dr Jennifer Saxby, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
PhD Anya Schlich-Davies, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
PhD Sarah Shallcross, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Christopher Lyon, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
PhD Josephine McSherry, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr. Giulio Mattioli, Department of Transport Planning, TU Dortmund University, & School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Professor Sven Schroeder, School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds
Dr Roger Tyers, School of Economic, Social & Political Sciences, University of Southampton
PhD Steve Westlake, School of Psychology, Cardiff University
Dr Jennifer A. Rudd MChem MRSC, Energy Safety Research Institute, Swansea University
Dr Elke Pirgmaier, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Louise Jennings, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds
Dr Bing Wang, School of Fine Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies, University of Leeds
Hazel Mooney, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Dr Maria Beger, School of Biology, University of Leeds
PhD Alberto Sanchez-Marroquin, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
PhD Lamprini Papafoti, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds
Benjamin Jenner, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds
Professor Anne Tallontire, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
PhD David Barns, School of Chemical & Process Engineering, University of Leeds
PHD Ian Sullivan, School of Sociology, University of Leeds
Calum Carson, Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds
Dr Leif Denby, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Associate Professor Dr Sara Gonzalez, School of Geography, University of Leeds
Dr Christopher Hassall, School of Biology, University of Leeds
Dr Tony Fowkes, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds
Dr David Dawson, School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds
Tim Joubert, School of Geography, University of Leeds
PhD Neil McKenna, School of Geography, University of Leeds
Professor Alexis Comber, School of Geography, University of Leeds
Dr Pepa Ambrosio-Albala, School of Chemical and Process Engineering, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
The Government can only truly “level up” the country after the Covid-19 crisis by rejecting austerity, investing in communities and building many more genuinely affordable homes, the Chief Executive of a BME housing association has argued.
Speaking at a webinar on the housing and health implications of the virusm Ali Akbor said the pandemic had graphically highlighted social disadvantages faced by BME people in the UK and elsewhere.
Mr Akbor, who has headed Leeds-based housing association Unity Homes and Enterprise for more than two decades, said:
“Neighbourhoods with a high concentration of BME residents are often plagued by acute levels of social deprivation which impact on people’s health.
“Many of these areas suffered particularly badly because of austerity measures introduced after the financial crash.
“BME families often live in overcrowded properties and there was little new money for affordable family homes during the austerity years.
“The coronavirus outbreak has rightly led the Government to find tens of billions of pounds to support businesses and workers – resources that were previously unheard of.
“But worrying times lie ahead in the UK including a recession, which the Chancellor of the Exchequer has already conceded will happen, and a likely surge in unemployment.
“Poorly paid workers, often of BME heritage, will undoubtedly be badly hit.”
The Unity Chief Executive, who received an OBE in the New Year Honours for services to the community in Leeds, said that if previous UK Governments had injected major targetted funding to address inequalities, the country and its people would not be living with the disparities we see today.
And he highlighted the current Government’s decision to release £6.4 million to provide emergency accommodation for 90% of rough sleepers at the start of the lockdown as “a prime example of what should have happened long ago.”
Mr Akbor said:
“Boris Johnson must keep his pre-election pledge to ‘level up’ society.
“The most deprived areas should be a funding priority as the nation emerges from lockdown.
“We need significant investment in local communities to protect those individuals and families most at risk of being left behind, socially and economically.
“This must include a commitment to place the building of many more genuinely affordable homes placed at the top of the Government’s post-pandemic ‘to do’ list.
“Austerity cannot be used as an excuse for health and financial inequalities ever again.
“The economic recovery has to be for everyone. People of all ethnicities must feel they have a stake in the brighter future that hopefully awaits.”
Unity Housing Association was formed in 1987 with the objective of building a strong, BME-led, community housing association to address the needs of black and minority ethnic communities in Leeds.
New temporary cycle lanes on the A65 Kirkstall Road will play a vital role in helping people travel safely in the recovery phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, Leeds City Council said today.
The authority has unveiled its plans to encourage more active travel across Leeds, which includes encouraging people to walk and cycle thanks to temporarily widened footways and low traffic neighbourhoods.
Pilot: A65 Kirkstall Road. Photo: Google
The first section of temporary cycle lanes will be on site late June along the A65 Kirkstall Road from Vesper Walk to the city centre to install “wand orcas” (semi-permanent bollards that are bolted to the road) to physically separate the space for cyclists and traffic.
This scheme has been fast-tracked and will be the first of the arterial routes into the city where such measures will be installed.
As well as an additional 100km of segregated cycle lanes plans also include an additional 500 cycle parking places across the district.
A council spokesperson said:
“To ensure people feel safe making their everyday essential journeys, over the last few weeks footways have been temporarily widened using water barriers in the city centre and across a number of local town and district centres.”
The footpath on Branch Road in Armley has been widened. Photo: Leeds City Council
School Streets schemes have begun to be tested out at six Leeds primary schools from 1 June – including Primrose Hill in Pudsey – restricting traffic movement outside the schools during school drop off and pick up times to make walking, scooting and cycling to school safer and healthier for children.
Primrose Hill, Pudsey. Photo: Google
Other schools are being identified for future waves of the scheme, subject to funding.
In May an interactive consultation went live asking the public to share ideas of where the council could improve social distancing and active travel measures, on main roads, in local neighbourhoods and around schools.
More than 20,000 contributions from 4,100 respondents are being considered.
As a first response, proposals for intended works will be available for comment. This can be viewed by visiting here.
Seventy one percent of Common Place respondents supported reducing traffic speed or volume measures to keep those using active travel safe. Fifty percent of those surveyed who own a private vehicle said they expect to use it less in the coming months.
Other notable suggestions included providing motorcycle parking and providing suitable locations for installation of this are also under way.
The Government has announced £250 million to support local councils who want to implement active travel measures.
Only £45m of the £250m announced by government has been made available initially and West Yorkshire Combined Authority have been allocated in the region of £2.5 million to assign to the five local authorities it covers, which includes Leeds.
Leeds City Council’s bid includes creating 500 miles of safer cycling routes across the city.
It will also introduce low traffic neighbourhood schemes in places like Hyde Park, which remove through traffic on identified streets, creating a safer space for walking and cycling whilst keeping access for local residents.
Councillor Lisa Mulherin, Leeds City Council’s executive member for climate change, transport and sustainable development, said:
“We want to embed a positive cycling and walking culture in Leeds. We have invested over £30m on cycle superhighways in the last few years and we have a further 15km of segregated cycle routes from existing programmes in construction this year.
“To achieve our ambition of 800km of segregated cycle routes and respond swiftly to this current situation we need to find quicker and cheaper ways to deliver this network on all our main roads in the city.
“Following the A65 Kirkstall Road, we are looking at pop-up segregated cycle lanes on other arterial routes, we’ve had lots of interest from other schools keen to join the school streets initiative and we’re very excited about introducing our first active travel neighbourhood.”
If you have questions on how to plan your journey click here for more information.
A community courier service delivering vital care packages to shielded older people in Bramley, Swinnow and Stanningley is going from strength to strength.
As we reported two weeks ago, generous volunteers from the Bramley Breezers have been picking up supplies from Bramley Community Centre and running them to vulnerable people unable to get out during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Community reporter and photographer Simon Cullingworth joined the runners – nicknamed ‘BrAmazon’ – this morning for a special delivery of books and magazines. Here’s his report:
BrAmazon co-founder Vickie Jamieson said:
“BrAmazon is another example of local people and community groups coming together to benefit everyone.
“It began around the middle of May and aimed to provide a carbon free mode of delivering essential items, and care packages for local vulnerable or elderly people who are isolating due to the Covid-19 crisis.
“The group came about by members of Bramley Elderly Action and Bramley Breezers coming together to share skills, time and resources.
“Bramley is well known for community groups working together, Bramley Elderly Action, Bramley Community Centre, Bramley Community Clothing Exchange and Bramley parkrun all rely heavily on volunteers and community engagement, and seems to be an endless supply in Bramley.”
BrAmazon, a combination of the words Bramley and Amazon, was brought together by Fran Graham and Vickie Jamieson. They linked the people power of Bramley Breezers running club to the essential deliveries for Bramley Elderly Action.
“The running delivery service gives the club runners purpose for their daily exercise, means they can contribute to the national effort to keep the country going, enables those who are isolating to have contact with others despite remaining home safely. It’s environmentally friendly, it encourages exercise, and it means the runners feel that they are still running as a group, in spite of being separate.”
I joined Bramley Breezer Pearl on a BrAmazon delivery this morning to see the courier service in action.
Pearl said:
“It’s all about giving back to the more vulnerable members of the local community and I hope somebody will look after me when I’m too old to look after myself.”
Pictured below is a happy recipient of a BrAmazon delivery this morning.
Pictured in the image at the top of this page are Bramley Breezers Pearl Shipley (left) and Joanne Brugger collecting books from Bramley Community Centre.
Open: New Lidl at Belgrave Retail Park, Stanningley
Up to four new Lidl stores may be built in West Leeds – but the company stressed that a final decision has yet to be taken.
Media reports circulated last week that the German retail chain is hoping to double the number of its shops in the UK and had identified 89 sites across Yorkshire – including 20 in Leeds – where they’d like to set up new stores.
Lidl has identified Armley, Bramley, Pudsey and Wortley as potential sites in West Leeds.
A Lidl spokeswoman said today that last week’s report quoted a site requirements brochure – a document normally sent to land owners and commercial agents to help the supermarket giant find sites for possible stores. She added:
“While the four [West Leeds] places are areas of interest to us, we don’t currently have anything firm in the pipeline for them.”
The requirements brochure states that Lidl is looking for ‘prominent sites in town, district, edge of centre or out of town locations’, ideally with ‘main road frontage with easy access and strong pedestrian or traffic flow’.
Textile artist Vickie Orton has been appointed to help Calverley Horticultural Society celebrate its show centenary in 2021 writes Anne Akers
Vickie, who is from Otley, has had her work exhibited across Yorkshire and elsewhere in the UK including two commissions for the National Paralympic Heritage Trust.
She was one of 23 artists to submit to the commission, which is funded by the Pudsey Charity and CHS. Her ideas include a large concertina book, which will unfold to make a wall hanging which will hopefully be displayed in the village library.
The piece will include history details of the village and the show, including the dramatic cancellation in 1968 because of a hail storm which destroyed crops in the allotments.
Vickie will work with group in the community to bring the ideas together. These may include virtual workshops or discussion groups during lockdown. She also aims to meet allotment holders and hold a ‘big draw’ workshop at this year’s show, or at a time when that’s possible with social distancing rules.
The 99th show will definitely be going ahead this year, says Secretary Bev Smith, but it will probably be virtual.
“While the lockdown may be eased in the weeks approaching our show date of 29 August 2020, we are planning for a virtual show so that as many people can take part as possible and as safely as possible. That means we’ll be adapting the usual classes so that entries can be made by sending photographs to our specially-designed website,” she said.
The number of classes would be reduced, but there was still plenty of opportunity for people to take part.
“We want people to show us their skills at crafting, growing, baking, making, painting, photography and much more, but the judging will be on how they look, including quality, impact, colour and innovation. Entry will be free, there will be no prize money, but winners will have a downloadable certificate. Trophies will be presented (virtually of course) where appropriate, we’ll pass them on when it’s safe to do so. We’ll also display entries on the website.”
She said arrangements would be made to help Calverley residents without access to digital cameras so that they could submit entries.
“It’s going to be very different this year, but we know how creative people have been during lockdown, so it will be a great for them to show others what they’ve done.”
It’s a landmark Kirkstall Road pub which has suffered from floods, fire and vandalism in the past, writes John Baron.
A Joshua Tetley Heritage Inn built at the turn of the 19th century, The Rising Sun was once a busy pub at the heart of the local community.
It shut down and became a furniture store in 2011, before a fire gutted the place in 2013 and it was flooded when the River Aire broke its banks on that fateful Boxing Day in 2015. Last year also saw problems with fly-tipping on the site, which was cleaned up at taxpayers’ expense.
Flytipping at the former Risign Sun pub off Kirkstall Road last year. Photo: Clean Leeds
There have been a variety of plans to resurrect the Grade II Listed building over the years, including one – refused by the council in 2017 – to de-list its interior and turn it into apartments.
But now it seems the biggest problem facing The Rising Sun seems to be one of apathy and the future of the historic building is hanging in the balance, an increasingly ugly and derelict scar at the side of Kirkstall Road.
Were the plans a new lease of life? Hardly. Two years on, those plans look moribund, with no movement on them for more than a year and council planners expressing some concerns. The Dispatch‘s e-mails to the architects last month went unanswered.
Everything seems to have fallen silent on the building’s future.
But if these plans are as dead as they seem to be, something needs to happen – and quickly, before it’s too late.
The Rising Sun pub in Kirkstall Road. Photo: Google maps/Google Street View
Today, West Leeds Dispatch is calling for action to save this remarkable building.
Leeds City Council urgently needs to re-instate The Rising Sun pub on its heritage ‘buildings at risk’ register.
Organisations like civic watchdog Leeds Civic Trust, who indicated their support for the most recent coffee shop/apartment plans, ought to be publicly lobbying for action.
Could the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), who also gave their blessing to the most recent plans, actively campaign for action on the site?
The pub dates back to around 1895, but it would be a crying shame to see a grade II Listed building, which used to be at the heart of its community, being left to simply rot.
It’s time to ask some questions about the future of the building – otherwise it’ll face the ignominious fate of another ‘forgotten’ and neglected pub further up Kirkstall Road – the George IV.
I always knew Bentley’s Butchers of Pudsey had an enviable reputation for its pork pies, but I’d never heard of a ‘Pudsey Pasty’ before, so I thought I’d give it a try, writes John Baron.
As someone who grew up in Pudsey, I couldn’t resist the Pudsey Pasty during a recent lunchtime visit.
A quick Google shows they’ve had their fair share of the headlines over European Union red tape in the past – but, biting into it, I didn’t know what to expect.
A couple of bites into my Pudsey Pasty
Turns out it includes minced beef, carrots, onions, pea and potato – and it’s blooming gorgeous! I’m not usually one for pasties but this one is packed full of ingredients and is cased in a gorgeous golden pastry.
It’s full of flavour from the ingredients but it’s also got a peppery, slightly spicy taste. It was certainly a pleasant surprise, and very filling as a lunch. It helped that it was still warm when I got it, too.
They’ve been baking it at Bentley’s for more than 28 years now and I can now see why it’s proven so enduring. Long live the Pudsey Pasty!
