Retrospective plans to change a bedroom in a residential property into a hair salon have been approved by councillors.
Applicant Maxine Robinson had both opposition and support for her proposals at her house in Addingham Gardens, Armley. She told the south and west plans panel she provides a personal service to older clients, a lot of whom do not drive.
She was supported by Councillor Kate Haigh (Lab, Farnley & Wortley) who said the hair salon business would generate traffic “not much more than a traditional family home”. She added Ms Robinson “has been at great pains to get this process right”.
Objector, neighbour Anne Cameron raised issues with privacy, parking and access. She said her garden was now a ‘no go area’, and had concerns over noise and quality of life in a residential area.
Her concerns were backed up by Councillor David Blackburn (Green, Farnley & Wortley), who had previously raised concerns over parking and traffic issues in a small cul-de-sac.
A council report said there were 55 representations on the proposal, 34 in support and 21 in objection.
South and west plans panel chair Councillor Paul Wray (Lab, Hunslet & Riverside) said: “Many of us work from home and many of us do not have planning permission to use part of the house as an office. This does have more noise attached to it. But this issue is about impact on the wider street, not the change of a particular room.”
Councillors voted unanimously to approve the plans, subject to conditions including hours of operation, 20-minute intervals between sessions and the number of staff and hairdressers’ chairs will be restricted to one.
The Barratt and David Wilson Homes team with Jamie Jones Buchanan and the Leeds Rhino players at last year's launch.
Barratt and David Wilson Homes Yorkshire West have donated £500 to Pudsey Southroyd Primary School to help improve the school’s ‘The Cabin’ project.
The school received £500 to buy four interactive screens that will be used in ‘The Cabin’, which is used by students for after school clubs, extra classroom space and a hub for community groups.
The donation follows Barratt Homes Yorkshire West’s previous support at the school, where the Commercial team used a ‘Donate a Day’ to clear and tidy the allotment area, rebuild damaged planting beds, and install an additional bed. The team were also able to re-paint the school wall with render paint, so the students can paint a new mural.
Barratt and David Wilson Homes Yorkshire West attending the launch of the school’s new building.
Picture the new building
The Cabin opened last May by Leeds Rhinos’ Jamie Jones Buchanan.
Anna Devine, school business manager at Southroyd Primary School, said: “We would like to thank Barratt Homes for its very generous donation.
“The Cabin is an important space for our students to learn and grow, and the new interactive screens will help our student’s continued development.”
Lindsey Sills, Commercial Director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes Yorkshire West, said: “We are pleased to hear that the donation will be useful in helping teaching the students during their classes and after school activities.
“As a leading housebuilder, we believe it is important to invest in the communities in which we build.”
Town councillors will this week meet in Horsforth to discuss community planning and traffic issues.
New planning and licensing applications will be discussed, alongside traffic issues, Leeds Bradford Airport and the Horsforth Neighbourhood Plan.
Horsforth Town Council’s Planning, Licensing and Traffic Committee is holding its monthly meeting at The Stables, 2 Church Road, on Thursday, 13 February (7pm).
Members of the public are welcome to attend. Anyone interested in attending is advised to email admin@horsforthtowncouncil.gov.uk to ensure enough seating is provided for you.
Farsley Celtic have been playing home games at the Tarmac Silverlands Stadium. Photo: Google
By John Baron
Crisis-hit Farsley Celtic are searching for their fourth manager of the season after boss Neil Redfearn quit after less than three weeks in charge.
Former Leeds United manager Redfearn was appointed on 17 January and led the Celts to two draws and two defeats in four games. He is understood to have resigned from the club on Thursday.
Neither Redfearn, nor his assistant Pav Singh, were at Farsley Celtic’s 6-1 defeat against relegation rivals Needham Market at Buxton on Saturday, with women’s manager Izzy Roads and youth manager Phil Lake in the dugout.
Management team Clayton Donaldson and Danny Ellis were dismissed in September, while replacement Pav Singh quit last month, returning as assistant a few days later when Redfearn was appointed.
Without a win since Boxing Day, the Celts have played all 31 National League North games and an additional four cup games away from The Citadel due to delays in laying a new 4G pitch. The club, which has been the subject of a boycott of games played at Buxton by members of the supporters’ club, says work on the pitch is scheduled to start next week.
Farsley’s defeat against Needham Market left the club third bottom of the National League North.
Attendees packed out St Stephen's Church Hall in Kirkstall. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield
By Kelvin Wakefield
Following an announcement last week that the council would no longer be closing Abbey House Museum, there was standing room only at meeting held on Sunday morning to discuss its future.
The meeting, held at at St Stephen’s Church Hall, Kirkstall, was chaired by Alderman Liz Minkin who stated that the museum had not just been saved for now, but for good.
Honorary Alderman – and former Kirkstall councillor – Liz Minkin chaired the Abbey House Museum public meeting. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield
This decision followed a well-supported campaign, where more than 10,000 people responded to the official consultation and more than 6,000 signed the petition to save it from closure.
The meeting gave locals a chance to offer suggestions as to how the Museum could be run in future. It was explained by the councillors that the budget for Kirkstall Abbey itself and the Abbey House Museum fell under different directorates.
In response, several attendees stated that this was a situation that needed to be changed, so that money raised by hosting events at Kirkstall Abbey could also go towards partly funding AHM. Currently, the Abbey falls under Parks and Countryside.
Leeds City Council’s Jane Walne speaks at the meeting. She is pictured with (from left) councillors Salma Arif, Fiona Venner and Hannah Bithell. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield
Jane Walne said that linking the administration of the two sites was something being considered by the council, though it posed significant difficulties.
However, Francesca Chalmers-Brown pointed out: “The same staff actually work at both sites, both Abbey House Museum and the Abbey itself.”
She suggested “The two sites could be better linked, and that more events could be held there in the evening.”
Ms Chalmers-Brown is part of a paranormal group who would love to host events there more often, but they were currently limited to three per year.
Steve Holt, owner and founder of Kirkstall Brewery, owns a significant collection of Victorian artefacts from the brewing industry.
Steve Holt, owner and founder of Kirkstall Brewery. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield
Currently, the items are displayed at the Tetley museum. He stated that he would like to place the items at AHM instead.
He also suggested that his company could run some form of café or bar in the Norman Hall at the former museum café, but which is now mostly used for visiting school groups to eat their packed lunches.
He made clear connections between Kirkstall Abbey, brewing, and the museum and suggested that a “Brewseum” could help to support the museum staying open.
Several people stated that the museum was expensive to visit, and called on it to have improved marketing and advertising. It was highlighted that other local attractions, such as the theatres in Leeds, need to do more to promote the museum, many do not even have a leaflet about it.
Attendee Vic Smith added: “There are no brown street signs, advertising the museum, like there are for similar attractions.”
And Simon Davis said: “Better toilet provision is needed and there could be room for a new café space.”
Simon Davis speaking at the meeting. Photo: Kelvin Wakefield
It was mentioned by a few people that the museum could not rely on the same locals visiting repeatedly. But it was also pointed out that visitors who signed up as Friends of Leeds Museums could pay just £25 a year, £15 for those age three to 18, and then gain free admission to Leeds City Museum, Leeds Art Gallery, Abbey House Museum, Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds Industrial Museum, Thwaite Mills, Temple Newsam House, Lotherton Hall, Leeds Museum Discovery Centre, and Burton Constable Hall near Hull.
WLD caught up with Leeds Central and Headingley MP Alex Sobel after the meeting. Mr Sobel said: “I’m delighted that the museum has been saved. I hope this will be the start of regular meetings to secure its long-term future.”
He added that work needs to be done to host more events there.
Farsley Celtic have been playing their games away at Buxton.
Struggling Farsley Celtic – who haven’t played in Farsley all season – slumped to a heavy 6-1 defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Needham Market.
The match – again played at Buxton’s Tarmac Silverland Stadium due to delayed work installing a new pitch at The Citadel – saw boss Neil Redfearn and assistant Pav Singh absent from proceedings.
Women’s manager Izzy Roads and junior coach Phil Lake took over the reins of a young Farsley side missing a number of senior players either through injury or departure from the club.
Iffy Allen and Seth Chambers had given the visitors a 2-0 advantage in the first half, although striker Robbie Fox pulled a goal back for the Celts before the break.
The Celts, again failing to fill their substitutes’ bench, lost new signing Essa Jennah to injury in the first half.
The second half saw the Celts overrun with further goals from Allen, Lambe, Chambers and Cross.
The result leaves the West Leeds club without a win since Boxing Day and sitting third from bottom after 31 games in National League North, with the Celts recording just a solitary win in their ‘home’ league games this season. This came against Peterborough Sports at Bradford Park Avenue.
Previous announcements by the club have indicated work laying the new 4G pitch at The Citadel is due to start this week.
Next Saturday they Celts face the lengthy trip to Leamington (3pm).
Plans: 22 Stanmore Road, Burley (on the left). Photo: Google, July 2022
By John Baron
Plans to change of use of a house into residential care for young people have been approved by councillors, despite concerns about traffic and parking.
The plans, by Mr S Sheikh, will see a semi-detached house in Stanmore Road, Burley, turned into a residential care home for three young people aged between 10 and 17 years old.
Members of the south and west plans panel heard there were 10 letters of objection from residents, including representation from Councillor Fiona Venner (Lab, Kirkstall).
Cllr Venner, who was the council’s cabinet member for children and families for five years, spoke against the application, saying she was a “fierce and passionate advocate for young people with multiple and complex needs”.
But she said the plans were neither good enough or appropriate and called on the council to introduce strong planning guidance on the issue of residential care homes in houses.
Cllr Venner argued the demographics of the area were unsuitable as it was dominated by house-sharing students and young professionals.
She said it was “not a quiet area”, with noise and anti-social behaviour, along with ‘chronic’ parking issues caused by people attending nearby Headingley Stadium.
Cllr Venner argued match day rugby traffic would make access ‘extremely problematic’.
Cllr Barry Anderson (Cons, Adel & Wharfedale) said he was sympathetic to Cllr Venner’s arguments but said there was no planning policy to allow the panel to refuse the application on planning grounds. He said the council needed to develop a policy.
Plans panel chair Cllr Paul Wray (Lab, Hunslet & Riverside) said planning policy around this type of application was being looked at by the council “but it has to be robust and defensible”.
Cllr Andy Rontree (Lab, Kirkstall) said he could not vote in favour of the application.
Council planning officers also said there would be three occupants at the property, so only one parking space was required under planning guidance. They warned councillors that if the applicant chose to appeal the decision against refusal that the council would be unlikely to win.
The plans were approved by a majority vote.
The south and west plans panel agenda and planning officer’s report can be read here.
“Wow”, “amazing” and “fabulous” were popular expressions heard at The Mill Gallery as it launched two captivating exhibitions on February 7.
Titled The Still & MeandArt By Chance,both collections were stunning as the evening also celebrated the grand opening of the venue’s brand-new gallery space.
With refreshments available, the many visitors enjoyed viewing the exceptional artwork while being able to converse with like-minded people in a very welcoming and impressive environment.
The Mill Gallery is managed by Aire Place Studios and is a space that celebrates innovation and inclusivity. Their mission is to provide a platform for emerging artists and to showcase their work to diverse audiences.
As an artist-run space the ethos is that art belongs to everyone, artists and audiences alike. Their exhibitions successfully combine creativity, self-expression, and conversation, where voices that are often silenced, are not just heard but are celebrated.
In a world where art spaces are often gatekept or out of reach, The Mill Gallery is reclaiming artistic ground for artists, by artists.
They empower artists to take the reins, curate boldly, and share their work in ways that are authentic and true to them.
The Mill Gallery isn’t just a space, it’s a powerful hub where creativity roars, artists lead with confidence, and solidarity drives everything they do.
The friendly and inspiring hub allows anyone, to experience and practice their creativity through the facilitating of a curated programme of hands-on sessions, expert-led classes, and interactive experiences designed to inspire and elevate your craft in an engaging and supportive ambience.
Whether you’re looking to develop new techniques or explore a fresh hobby, their workshops are the perfect opportunity to connect, learn, and grow.
Explore the programme of upcoming events and find the perfect workshop to ignite your passion.
The Mill Gallery is at. Unit 5 Cardinal House, Swinnow Grange Mills, Bramley, Leeds, LS13 4EP. It is open every Friday from 1pm until 6pm
The exhibition runs until the end of February and is described in the following terms:
Art By Chance
Art by Chance at The Mill Gallery is a bold, playful exhibition that embraces randomness as the ultimate curator. This unique showcase invites artists from all backgrounds to submit their work, with spots on the gallery walls granted by pure chance alone.
With no selection panel and no juried process, the exhibition lineup is determined entirely by the spin of a bingo wheel, creating an open and democratic art experience.
Participating artists purchased numbers to represent their entries, and once the submission period closed, The Mill Gallery assigned them their numbers.
In a series of live bingo draws on Instagram, the wheel selected numbers at random, filling the gallery “house” one artwork at a time until all spots were claimed.
This light-hearted process breaks down traditional barriers to entry, offering artists an equal chance to showcase their work and bringing an element of thrill and unpredictability.
The Still & Me
The Still & Me: brings a fresh perspective to the classic art of still life. This exhibition invites artists to explore the timeless theme of still life in creative and unexpected ways, blending tradition with modern sensibilities.
From bold paintings to innovative sculpture, discover how contemporary artists breathe new life into a centuries-old subject.
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 seven days:
An artist's impression of the Pudsey Grammar sixth form block.
By John Baron
The headteacher of Pudsey Grammar School has admitted that having £4 million funding for a new post 16 centre withdrawn by the Government was ‘disappointing’.
The scheme received the backing of the previous Government in 2023 and would have created 134 additional sixth form learning places, along with classrooms, breakout spaces, additional staff offices and a dedicated sixth form learning space with IT facilities.
But a financial review by the Government decided the development would not proceed.
Pudsey Grammar School headteacher Mark McKelvie said: “We were disappointed to receive notice from the Department for Education in December that they were withdrawing the funding for our proposed new Sixth Form building.
“I met with Rachel Reeves MP in mid-January to discuss this. Ms Reeves explained that the programme was part of a series of unfunded spending commitments made by the previous Government and as a result could not proceed.
“This was extremely disappointing as it means we cannot expand our popular and oversubscribed Sixth Form to around 350-400 students from across the wider area at this point. However, our future plans and financial modelling were not dependent on the additional number of students the building would have provided.
“In addition, this does not affect any of our recruitment plans for Sixth Form students as our existing excellent facilities can easily accommodate around 280 students. We are welcoming more and more students from across the area to our Sixth Form as they appreciate what we offer and how supportive our students and staff are towards new year 12 students who attended other schools.”
Mr McKelvie said there was ‘much to be proud of’ in the school, which remains one of the most popular in Leeds with around 900 applications for 215 year 7 places.
He added: “We have good exam results, we already have an excellent building and our Sixth Form is easily the best in the west of the city with high quality support beyond the classroom combined with excellent personal development opportunities and extra-curricular activities which are second to none, as our recent separate trips to Paris and New York demonstrate.
“As we had set aside funding for the new building we are now working on future plans to further develop our Sixth Form facilities by providing additional social and study areas.”
An artist’s impression of the new Pudsey Grammar School sixth form building.
Pudsey Conservative councillors Simon and Dawn Seary have written to Leeds West and Pudsey MP Rachel Reeves to express their concerns.
In a statement they said: “Local students will suffer the consequences of Rachel Reeves’ choice to halt funding for Pudsey Grammar School’s Sixth Form expansion.
“The school is already oversubscribed and in urgent need of more space. Yet, while other Sixth Form projects continue to receive funding, Pudsey is being left behind.
“She may cite an alleged financial ‘black hole,’ but … Mauritius is set to receive £9bn – potentially £18bn – in negotiations over the Chagos Islands. We have written to Rachel Reeves and will continue to voice our deep disappointment and will continue urging her to reconsider her choice.”
Responding to the Searys, a Government source told WLD: “Conservative politicians have an incredible brass neck to try and grandstand over this issue when they left behind a £22bn black hole in the public finances, crumbling schools, falling standards and a ‘lose, lose, lose,’ SEND system in their own words.
“It has fallen again to Labour to clean up the mess and we make no bones about the fact we’ve had to take tough decisions to fix the foundations of our economy.
“Our focus is now on pushing for growth to put money in the pockets of working people and driving high and rising school standards, delivering on our Plan for Change.”
An artist’s impression of the new Pudsey Grammar sixth form block.
And Pudsey’s independent councillor Trish Smith said: “It’s a huge shame this project hasn’t gone ahead as planned. Our young people deserve the very best start in life and every opportunity we can offer them.
“For years now, the young people in the west of the city have had to travel – often long distances – for the correct provision for them and their future aspirations. Whilst we have the new sixth form facility currently being built off Kent Road, the Grammar School project would have complimented that provision and offered our young people more choice locally.
“Hopefully this is just a delay though, and the project will go forward once new funding can be identified.”
Rachel Reeves MP was approached for comment.
Construction work on the new Pudsey Sixth Form College, off Kent Road, is continuing and on track to open in September. It will cater for 600 higher education students studying A-Levels, vocational courses and GCSEs.
