An Armley community group is celebrating progress in tackling an eyesore on Armley Town Street.
All Together Armley has welcomed news that the abandoned Loony Bin joke shop has now been designated as dangerous by Leeds City Council and made secure. Loose masonry and guttering has been removed.
Paedophile David Slater, who owns the shop, was jailed indefinitely in January 2012 after he admitted a string of sex assaults on children in his shop as well as at his home in nearby Edinburgh Place.
A spokesman for the group said:
“This building has been brought to our attention for a long time by neighbouring businesses and residents affected by its dangerous and dilapidated state.
“For some it also holds difficult memories and lack of progression to regenerate this building holds it back in time.
“People in Armley are positive about moving forward and improving the area, these achievements are all small steps to wider improvement.”
The spokesperson acknowledged that the work was only ‘the first step’ to securing the future of the building and went on to say that All Together Armley will now work on improving the visual appearance of the building and are looking for local artists to contact them with ideas. He added:
“We would love to have the place looking brighter in time for the first Armley Festival on Saturday 6th August.”
Interest or ideas can be emailed to alltogetherarmley@gmail.com.