Leeds Star | News, Sport and Entertainment

Leeds City Council has joined forces with Voluntary Action Leeds and a network of other local charities to deliver care to anyone in need across the city. Following last week’s unprecedented announcements many people had already made the difficult decision to self-isolate. Monday’s Prime Ministerial announcement means now even more people will be restricted from leaving their homes, except under limited circumstances, yet many may not have friends or relatives to help them. In response Leeds City Council has today…

Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are known to infect both humans and animals, and in humans cause respiratory illness that range from common colds to much more serious infections. Covid-19 shares many of its symptoms with the flu or common cold, although there are certain symptoms common to flu and colds that are not usually seen in Covid-19. People with confirmed cases of Covid-19 rarely suffer from a runny nose, for instance. A vaccine for Covid-19 isn’t around the corner. Bringing vaccines to the market is…

Residents and business owners in the Apperley Bridge and Calverley area will have the opportunity to view flood defence proposals at two events next month. The plans on display are the second phase of proposals for flood defences in Leeds, as part of a catchment-wide approach to reducing flood risk from the River Aire. Two drop-in events are being held for the community on: Monday 2 March, 3pm to 7pm Tuesday 10 March, 10am to 2pm The events are being held at the George & Dragon Pub, Apperley Road, Apperley…

Leeds City Council has won a national award for its work to improve the skills and leadership of people who work in the social care sector. The council scooped the ‘best employer support for registered managers’ award at a prestigious ceremony in London where it was presented with a Skills for Care Accolade trophy by TV dance star Anton Du Beke. A panel of expert judges were impressed by the council’s commitment to improve the quality of social care services in the city by supporting registered managers through their…

A new exhibition will take visitors to Lotherton on a journey to Japan thanks to fascinating links forged decades ago by a Leeds diplomat and his family. Making Japan, which opens on March 1, will see the Aberford estate bridge a gap of more than 5,000 miles to explore three centuries of the island nation’s unique culture, from Samurai swords to Pokémon. The exhibition looks at the contrast between Japan’s storied history, its stunning natural beauty and bustling industries. It will give visitors to the estate the chance to…

An innovative grants scheme has helped cultural organisations in Leeds generate more than £56m for the local economy in just one year, new figures have revealed.   The Arts@Leeds project, run by Leeds City Council, gives arts organisations across the city financial support to create exciting events and activities in venues and communities. Now evaluation looking at the impact of the project over a year has found that the 41 organisations which received Arts@Leeds funding in 2018-19 generated a total of £56,799,450 of…

The winners of the seventh Child Friendly Leeds awards have been announced in a star-studded ‘Space’ themed ceremony at Leeds City Varieties. The awards, which are organised, planned and delivered by young people, celebrate some of the people, places and organisations working to make Leeds a child friendly city. A significant number of nominations were received across the city for inspiring young people, child friendly places, people who go the extra mile and fantastic organisations and community groups, with the winners…

A proposal to build a new specialist free school in Headingley is set to get official backing from senior councillors next week after a public consultation received strong support. The new school, if approved by Leeds City Council’s executive board on Wednesday 12th February, will be based at Rose Court on Buckingham Road, and will create 150 new school places for children and young people aged 4-16 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). As part of the proposal, 50 additional partnership places will also be…

Residents across Leeds are being targeted with a major new campaign to reduce coronary heart disease and stroke. The initiative comes just months after stark warnings that our region has the highest death rate in England attributed to coronary heart disease. Every month, around 1,100 people in Yorkshire are killed by heart and circulatory diseases – around 10 per cent higher than the national average. Now One You Leeds – Leeds City Council’s free local healthy living service – has launched its ‘5 Ways To A Healthy Heart’…

Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF) are once again hoping to see a red wave across our region on February 7st to help support babies and children living with congenital heart disease (CHD). Your generosity can really mean the world to children and adults with congenital heart disease across Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. Whatever you can give will make a huge difference! Based at the Leeds Children’s Hospital, Children’s Heart Surgery Fund covers the regions of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. Around 450 babies,…

The city will once again be getting its skates on when Leeds’s coolest wintertime attraction returns to Millennium Square to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Open until Sunday, February 23, Ice Cube will once again give visitors a chance to whizz around the ice under a specially covered outdoor real ice rink complete with a transparent marquee style roof. The attraction’s penguin club on Saturday and Sunday mornings will mean children can take their first steps on to the ice in a fun and safe environment with the assistance…

The largest apprenticeship recruitment fair in the north returns to the Leeds early next month. Taking place at the first direct arena from 4-8pm on Monday 3 February, the Leeds Apprenticeship Recruitment Fair will feature more than 100 organisations exhibiting apprenticeship vacancies available now. The list of employers taking part includes Channel 4 Television, Deloitte, Eversheds Sutherland, first direct, Leeds City Council, Keepmoat Homes, KPMG, Network Rail, PwC, Volkswagen Group and many more. For a full list of…

Stunningly intricate patterns made using millions of grains of salt have transformed the great hall of Temple Newsam House for a new exhibition celebrating the mansion’s history. Artist Catherine Bertola has reinterpreted the story of the stunning Tudor Jacobean building’s unique architecture and its generations of residents as she brings Below the Salt to the house to coincide with its 500 year anniversary. Using salt to replicate the beautiful design of an early piece of woven table linen, over the past few weeks the…

An ancient Egyptian priest who spoke his final words more than 3,000 years ago has been given a new voice thanks to a ground-breaking research project. The sound of Nesyamun, whose mummified remains are on display at Leeds City Museum, has been recreated following seven years of work by academics at Royal Holloway, University of London, University of York, and Leeds Museums and Galleries. Using precise measurements taken using detailed Computed Tomography (CT) scanning of the mummy, the team of experts was able to…

A start has been made to a major £5million programme of improvements to town centres and high streets across Leeds. The work on buildings, public realm and highway improvements is part of Leeds City Council’s Local Centres Programme to support businesses and enhance the urban environment of important local shopping and services. Since the programme’s launch in 2018, the council has worked with property owners, businesses and local people to bring forward an initial raft of 14 schemes, each potentially benefitting from…

A city civic commemoration event marking Holocaust Memorial Day will be held on Sunday 26 January at Leeds Town Hall from 2pm. Holocaust Memorial Day is the international day of remembrance of six million Jewish men, women and children murdered in the Holocaust, and millions of other people killed under German Nazi persecution, and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest German Nazi concentration and death camp.…

The full routes for the 2020 Tour de Yorkshire and Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race have been unveiled at Leeds Civic Hall. Both routes will be the toughest in the history of the race and feature more climbing than ever before, including the Côtes de Buttertubs and Grinton Moor – both making their first appearances since the 2014 Tour de France and the return of the infamous Shibden Wall. New Welcome to Yorkshire Chief Executive James Mason greeted a packed press conference on Friday morning with the Amaury Sport…

The opening hours of a popular outer east Leeds leisure centre have been significantly extended from this week. As part of the new schedule, service users will now be able to use all of the facilities at Garforth Leisure Centre from 6am-10pm on Monday-Friday. Previously, the opening hours at the facility from Monday-Friday were 8.30am-10pm (Monday and Wednesday), 4pm-10pm (Tuesday and Thursday) and 8.30am-10pm (Friday). At the weekend, the leisure centre will now also open earlier on both Saturday and Sunday from 8am. In…

For Georgian virtuosos, it was the ideal instrument for showing audiences they were in a glass of their own. And this month, Leeds’s own incredible glass harp is set to strike a chord with visitors to a new exhibition celebrating hundreds of years of the city’s musical memories. Made in 1820 by Leeds craftsman Joshua Muff, the glass harp is a beautiful example of an instrument which first became popular in the 18th century. Played by running a chalked or moistened finger round a series of glasses of different shapes…