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Plans for the transformation of City Square in Leeds are set to take a significant step forward with the appointment of the expert design team that will help shape the future of this key site. Leeds-based Re-form Landscape Architecture has been announced as the recommended choice to collaborate with Leeds City Council and other stakeholders on the scheme, with the company’s concept for the new-look City Square due to be worked up and carefully fine-tuned over the course of the next year. The council has long-standing…

Building on the transport conversation in previous years and the extensive work completed in the city centre over the past 12 months, senior councillors in Leeds will discuss additional work to improve cycling links in and around the city centre at a meeting next week. At the Council’s Executive Board, councillors will consider a report progressing further plans to transform cycling in the city centre. The report presents plans to approve £7.06 million of new cycling routes across Leeds, as part of Leeds City Council’s…

Senior councillors in Leeds are set to renew their commitment to tackling child poverty in Leeds at next week’s executive board meeting. Leeds City Council’s ambitious strategy, Thriving, first launched in 2019 and brings together vital work across the city to help reduce the impact of poverty on children and young people. Thriving unites key organisations across the city under one strategic goal and works with the public, private and third sector along with schools, children, young people and families with direct…

Businesses in Leeds are being given a helping hand as the city aims to build back stronger than ever from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leeds City Council has already distributed more than £280m worth of support to thousands of local businesses since the start of the pandemic. Now two council grant schemes have reopened to try to ensure as many businesses as possible get the assistance they need to come through the crisis. The first scheme is there to help eligible businesses with property costs such…

Residents in Leeds are being reassured about the steps being taken to address a sharp rise in cases of COVID-19 among the city’s young people. The latest data indicates cases of the virus have been consistently increasing over the past week and, while hospitalisations and deaths remain low, cases among unvaccinated age groups have risen. The city’s current COVID rates show cases at 82.2 per 100,000. Positivity is stands at 3.4 per cent, with cases showing a particular increase among 17–18 olds, who have yet to receive a…

An academic study of the Asset Based Community Development programme, which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Leeds and bring neighbourhoods together, shows there have been positive outcomes across the 12 Leeds communities it was piloted in. Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is a community building approach which Leeds City Council has developed into a pioneering programme in the city. Third sector organisations, funded by Leeds City Council, employ community builders who work with…

Sound equipment has been seized from a number of properties in north west Leeds and another home ‘closed’ after residents ignored previous warnings regarding unacceptable levels of noise. This follows the approval of three Warrant of Entry Orders and a Premise Closure Order at Leeds Magistrates Court to support the wide-ranging work undertaken by the council’s Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team (LASBT) and West Yorkshire Police to tackle noise nuisance specifically in the LS6 area of the city. As part of the operation, a…

As the ultimate jaw-dropping party accessory, it was specially designed to dazzle envious aristocrats. And this week Temple Newsam’s gigantic silver wine cooler has been getting a bit of added sparkle as staff polish it up to impress a new generation of visitors to the historic mansion. The second largest of its kind anywhere in the world, weighing an impressive 80kg and measuring almost a metre-and-a-half across, the spectacular cooler was crafted in around 1705. The ostentatious piece bears the mark of Philip Rollos,…

Shared Lives Carers play a pivotal role in supporting adults across the city with a range of care needs. The paid scheme, is an alternative approach to traditional residential respite and day services, giving full time carers the opportunity to take a short break or holiday. Shared Lives Carers perform a paid role and are recruited on a self-employed basis by Leeds City Council. Anyone over the age of 18, with a spare bedroom can apply to become a Shared Lives Carers, with no prior experience necessary as full training…

A recommendation that a new community sports hub originally earmarked for a site next to Leeds United’s Elland Road Stadium is relocated to the former home of Matthew Murray High School, is set to be discussed by senior councillors of the council’s executive board next week. The potential change in location of the ‘Parklife’ initiative from Fullerton Park to the old Matthew Murray school site reflects ongoing discussions between Leeds United and Leeds City Council after the club earlier in the year expressed a desire to…

It’s an historic conservation project that’s sure to strike a chord with music lovers all across Leeds and beyond. Leeds Town Hall’s one-of-a-kind organ, which has been part of the city’s heritage for more than 160 years, is set for some major restoration work designed to protect and preserve it for future generations. One of the largest of its kind in Europe, the towering 50 foot-high organ was designed by noted architect Cuthbert Brodrick and famously played at the opening ceremony of Leeds Town Hall, attended by…

Volunteers, community groups, businesses and organisations from across the city have been out in force to show their support to a Leeds City campaign asking residents to please take their litter home or dispose of it in an appropriate way if visiting a park or green space. Following the official launch of the initiative in April, volunteers and community groups in undertaking their tremendous regular clean-up and environmental work have also joined members of the council’s parks and countryside team on litter picks,…

People across Leeds are being asked to make one small change to a weekly journey by leaving the car at home and choosing to walk, cycle, or use the bus instead. A new Walk it Ride it campaign has launched which aims to get people walking and cycling by encouraging them to choose healthier, greener ways to travel. Leeds City Council has partnered with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and local bus companies to design and deliver the new Connecting Leeds campaign. The campaign will share individual stories of how…

A colourful collection of work by prolific designer Sheila Bownas has found a new home in Leeds as part of a quest to see her celebrated as a leading light in 20th Century creativity. She was the little-known Yorkshire artist whose eye-catching creations encapsulated the wave of optimism which swept across post-war Britain. The Sheila Bownas Archive, includes 188 works on paper, many of which would have been used in textiles and fashion or on popular wallpapers that were used to decorate people’s homes. The collection…

People across Leeds are being asked to send in messages to thank schools and members of the education community that have supported them during the pandemic. These messages will then be placed on billboards across the city, to show appreciation and raise awareness of everything educators have done to help others. Through repeated lockdowns and with remote teaching and social distancing, the teaching community of Leeds have gone the extra mile to support their pupils. Whether it’s a teacher who helped a pupil struggling at…

An innovative scheme offering a very big thank you to NHS and frontline workers for their tremendous dedication and efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic is set to return. This follows the huge success of the #LeedsSaysThanksInitiative, which co-ordinated by Leeds City Council and launched initially in the summer of 2020, saw 63 organisations based in the city provide a range of fantastic discounts and savings to frontline workers. On offer included free tickets, and access to special activities and events at a free or…

Leeds City Council has given its reaction to the announcement of a railways funding package by the Government. Ministers confirmed details of a £317m investment in the York-Leeds-Manchester Transpennine rail route, with funds also being released for the new White Rose and Thorpe Park stations in Leeds. Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council said: “This funding package is encouraging news and it’s good to see that our long-standing calls for greater investment in the rail network in and around Leeds are…

Eligible residents will be able to install energy saving technology—including solar panels, cavity wall insulation and, in some areas, external wall insulation completely free of charge. Leeds City Council has secured £5.6m from the Government’s Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme, to make nearly 685 of the city’s coldest homes healthier, warmer, and cheaper with energy saving measures. The work supports the council’s efforts both to reduce fuel poverty and tackle climate change and will be carried out in…

Councillor Asghar Khan has become the city’s 127th Lord Mayor of Leeds after unanimous support from members of all parties at the council’s annual meeting. Taking over the role from the previous incumbent Councillor Eileen Taylor, who served an unprecedented two years in the role, Councillor Asghar Khan will be accompanied during his time in office through 2021/22 by his wife and Lady Mayoress, Robina Kosar. Born in Kashmir, Councillor Asghar Khan moved to England in the 1980s as an eleven-year-old boy. He attended…