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Issue 72 | March 2021
Covering Beeston, Belle Isle, Cottingley, Holbeck, Hunslet, Middleton, Riverside & Stourton
CLADDING: THE NIGHTMARE CONTINUES nightmare of spiralling costs”, on a “road to ruin” with even greater costs ahead. The “huge toll” of living under stress and uncertainty. Anger at the developers for “cutting corners” and “building firetraps”, then successfully wriggling out of responsibility, whilst still in some cases receiving huge government grants for current developments, and via schemes like Help to Buy. And anger undoubtedly with the government too, for their “failure to understand”, for failing to hold the developers to account, and for seeking just to placate them with “wholly insufficient” funding. Mo insisted: “The government are treating us as
by Ed Carlisle
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housands of local residents remain locked in a bitter and urgent battle for major safety renovations on their flat blocks – and to avoid having to foot the punishingly high costs themselves. Last month (10 February) saw the government’s longawaited £3.5bn Building Safety Fund (BSF) announcement, to tackle the national ‘cladding crisis’ (on top of £1.6bn previously designated funds). However, this falls far short of the £15bn widely recognised as needed to properly remedy the situation – meaning that many regular leaseholders will still have to pay tens of thousands of pounds each, for the historic failings of developers and planners. And as we went to press, the Fire Safety Bill is due in Parliament on 24 February, with fiercely contested debates likely on proposals including the McPartland-Smith Amendment which – backed by a range of MPs from all parties – reject the government’s position, and argue that regular leaseholders should not be
Leaseholders are not impressed with Government plans held responsible for historic confused, or simply too shelldefects. shocked to share their stories; Local developments others asked that we change particularly affected include their names for this article; and Leeds Dock (formerly Clarence some have even been forced to Dock), Greenhouse in Beeston, sign gagging orders, to not and many of the blocks in speak with the press. Holbeck ‘Urban Village’ and Of those we did speak with, along the city centre waterfront. we heard very similar stories. But many residents spoke of Pride and delight at having feeling overwhelmed, drained, bought a home, turning into “a
stakeholders, alongside the industry that’s done this to us – but in reality, we’ve been wronged, we’re the victims.” Ben added: “We – the leaseholders – are the only innocent party in this situation, but we’re the ones being held responsible. It’s madness.” The cladding crisis follows the tragic 2017 inferno at Grenfell Tower, in west London – in which 72 people died. This was followed by a national survey of all apartment blocks, which discovered that the construction industry and developers had been operating below safety standards on apartment blocks for years – particularly around external Continues on page 2
Cladding Stories | Phil: “I was delighted to be able to buy my flat two years ago, but it now feels like I made a terrible decision. I got a fire safety report during the purchase, but it’s now clear that substantial work is needed to replace unsafe materials and insert fire breaks. The BSF is currently unlikely to cover all that, so we’re facing ruinous costs – estimated at over £40,000 per leaseholder. The Covid pandemic have really put a strain on my mental health, and now – through no fault of my own – I feel trapped in an unsafe building, and facing the threat of potential bankruptcy, and even losing my home. It’s completely overwhelming.”
In this issue:
It’s Heidi @Little LitterSociety
page 5
Signs of Spring photo comp page 7
Healthy holidays in Holbeck page 10
Coping with loss and loneliness pages 16-17
NEWS
2-9
SCHOOL LIFE
10
COMMENT HISTORICAL LIVES
12-14 15 16-17
ART LIFE
18
WHAT’S ON
19
SPORTING LIFE 20
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South Leeds Life | March 2021
Twitter: @SouthLeedsLife
2 News
About us South Leeds Life is written by and for local people. People who live, work and play in the LS10 and LS11 areas of South Leeds. The website and newspaper are produced by South Leeds Life CIC, a social enterprise registered with Companies House, No 9998695. South Leeds Life is a member of the Independent Community News Network.
Our aims To inform people of events, activities, issues and opportunities taking place in the South Leeds community; To encourage the involvement of the wider community in communicating their experiences; To foster community spirit and involvement; and To provide a platform for local people to contribute and respond to community life more fully. South Leeds Life is pleased to publish views from across the political spectrum, provided they comply with our editorial guidelines. We remain a neutral publication with a diverse readership, as such we do not endorse any particular political party.
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Authority approves funding for new White Rose station P
lans for a £24 million rail station at White Rose, Leeds, were among the items considered by members of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Investment Committee last month. The new rail station will lie between Morley and Cotttingley on the Transpennine route. Alongside proposals for a new accessible station next to the White Rose Office Park, the scheme also includes better walking and cycling routes between the station and Cottingley, Churwell and Millshaw, as well as the White Rose Shopping Centre and the bus interchange. The fate of Cottingley Rail Station remains in doubt, as it is unlikely two stations, this close together, can be fully sustained. Further substantial consultation with local people on Cottingley Rail Station is due to take place later this year to understand their needs and
develop a scheme that best meets their requirements. West Yorkshire Combined Authority has also comitted to explore a range of options to ensure people in Cottingley and neighboring areas have the access they need to the rail network and other transport links, including the potential for an on-demand bus service for the community. The scheme is being developed in partnership by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Leeds City Council, Munroe K and Network Rail. It will receive £5 million from the Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme (LPTIP) and up to £12 million from the Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund – a major new programme of transport infrastructure investment secured as part of the West Yorkshire devolution deal – as well as contributions from Munroe K.
Cladding nightmare
who would pay to fix them, residents have faced spiralling service charges – to cover costly ‘waking watches’ (security attendants on fire duty 24 hours per day, costing £179/month per flat on average in Leeds), soaring insurance premiums, and other interim costs. And the value of their homes have dropped considerably, if sales are even possible: mortgage lenders refuse to lend on most affected properties. The newly-announced Building Safety Fund will pay for the replacement of unsafe cladding on buildings over 18m tall. But 70% of the buildings also require other safety renovations such as the replacement of wooden balconies, and the installation of internal firebreaks and barriers, which are not covered. These costs look set to amount to tens of thousands of pounds per property: for example, one local block needs £3.2m for fire breaks alone. Meanwhile, blocks between 11m18m are not eligible for grants, but only low-interest loans; and smaller blocks get nothing. Previously, the government released some funding to cover interim costs. But residents are not impressed. Pippa told us: “Until funding is gained to cover all defects (not just cladding), many buildings will simply be left unsafe, as people cannot afford to pay. The proposal to forcing loans onto smaller properties is despicable. And funds like the Waking Watch Relief Fund are wholly insufficient.” Indeed, there is palpable anger about the government’s response. Researchers last year discovered that senior figures in the building and property industries paid an
Continued from page 1 cladding, flammable building materials, and fire prevention, detection and alarm systems. It has since come to light that thousands of blocks (housing up to a million residents) are unsafe – most of them privately owned. Publicly or socially owned buildings were less affected – and those that were not safe typically received funding to upgrade in 2018-19. All the Council flat blocks in this area were given the all-clear. But the nightmare was only just beginning for the thousands of local residents in private apartment blocks. The situation first broke locally as a full-blown crisis in December 2019, when the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service issued warnings to all leaseholders to respond to the demands of the new legislation, or face eviction. Indeed, not only did the leaseholders discover their homes were unsafe, but also that they were legally responsible for paying to make it right. The corporate freeholders who own the buildings, and the developers who built them (if they had not already dissolved themselves, as many had), and the planning departments that had signed them off, were all off the hook. In most cases, warranties had expired, and insurance was insufficient. Residents have since found themselves trapped in a massively stressful and expensive scenario. Aside from the danger posed by their buildings, and the uncertainty of
Cllr Denise Jeffery, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Investment Committee and Leader of Wakefield Council, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership on plans for the new White Rose Rail Station, which will improve transport links and act as a catalyst for local regeneration, housing growth, economic activity and jobs. “In these challenging times, it is more important than ever that we continue to deliver this mediumterm investment to ensure our communities benefit from a modern, accessible transport network, which connects more people with job,
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training and education opportunities.” Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee, said: “A new rail station at White Rose will bring new opportunities for people in Cottingley, Churwell, Millshaw and Morley.” The committee also approved proposals for an £11.866 million scheme to deliver 6,700 m2 of new green public spaces in Leeds city centre, on the former Tetley Brewery site; and 1.4km of walking and cycling improvements between the South Bank and the city centre, amongst other “shovel-ready” schemes on the agenda.
Artist’s impression of the new White Rose station
Cladding Stories | Viraj “We realised that our block was affected last year, and the service charges and insurance have kept up going up and up since: they’ve now doubled. And the management company is just not transparent. They make big demands of us, but then you can’t get hold of them, and they suppress information from us: they’re more interested in the big freeholders. We leaseholders are too distributed, not united enough – and it feels like we’re being taken for a ride. It’s been a nightmare, really stressful, and it’s really affected me and my family.” unprecedented £11m in donations to the Conservative Party in the past 18 months – and they seem to be getting their payback, with the latest proposals having them pay a modest £2bn in levies over the coming decade. The Leasehold Knowledge Partnership have proposed how the government could reasonably recoup the entire £15bn from the industry, but are struggling to get traction with government. Local MP Hilary Benn is one of the cross-party body of politicians working with residents to resolve the crisis. He told us: “The announcement of additional help represents progress, but it hasn't resolved the crisis facing leaseholders, and will still leave almost all of them having to pay to fix a problem that they did not create. “All the cladding organisations, including the Leeds Cladding
Scandal group which has done such a great job, will carry on campaigning for a fair outcome in which those who caused the problem pay to fix it – and they will continue to have my full support.” For more information, check out the Leeds Cladding Scandal or the UK Cladding Action Group on social media, or go to insidehousing.co.uk. Campaigners are calling upon citizens everywhere for their support, to help force Parliament to adopt a fair solution. As Pippa warns: “The government are attempting to divide the leaseholders from the general taxpayer – but those responsible for the crisis should pay to remedy it. If developers and manufacturers get the go-ahead to continue to build on the cheap, cut corners, and build dangerous homes; if they fail to acknowledge there is systemic failure, this crisis will happen again.”
Cladding Stories | Pippa “I bought my property in January 2019, but was very cautious about known cladding issues, and checked with both the council and West Yorkshire Fire Service that the building was safe. Then last summer, the issues came out: cladding, and much more. My service charge has since increased from £240/month to £630/month. Estimates for building work here are £8m: an average of £43,000 per leaseholder, but nearer to £70,000 for me. “The BFS fails to provide the full promised solution, and indicates there’s still a failure to grasp the full scale of the crisis. Until funding is gained to cover all defects (not just cladding), many buildings will simply be left unsafe, as people cannot afford to pay. ”
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March 2021 | South Leeds Life
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News 3
Residents Making Holbeck voices heard on street sex work urged to take
up postal voting for May elections
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oice of Holbeck have published their longawaited report of the Listening Well project detailing residents views about street sex work and the Council’s ‘Managed Approach’ strategy. Listening Well ran over the course of a year up to February 2020 and consisted of nine round table events at various venues around Holbeck. Over 500 residents participated in the events which were also attended by representatives of the Police, Safer Leeds and Leeds City Council, including Councillors. The aim was to allow decision makers to hear directly from residents about their lived experiences. The report documents scores of incidents, mainly in the residential areas of Holbeck including: • kerb crawling • being propositioned for sex • being asked to buy sex • witnessing public sex acts The Managed Approach was designed to keep sex work away from residential areas by tolerating it in an industrial zone between 8pm-6am. However, residents made it clear that this wasn’t working with incidents reported on residential streets at all hours of the day and night. Residents expressed concerns for children in the area ranging from explaining the condoms stuck on buggy wheels through to girls being propositioned on their way to and from school. They have also reported many negative emotional impacts including mental health issues and changing their behaviour, for example, not going out in the evening, avoiding walking and instead taking taxis due to the fear of being approached by kerb crawlers propositioning them for sex. Speaking about the report, members of Voice of Holbeck said they wanted a clear exit strategy from the Council to see an end to street sex work in Holbeck. They feel more pressure should be put on the ‘punters’, usually men, with increased use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. Voice of Holbeck member organisations have previously liaised with Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Police to secure limited improvements for the local community,
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Residents make their voices heard at a Listening Well event including a dedicated police phone line to report incidents: 07534 309568, increased Police patrols and a sex litter removal service. Voice of Holbeck say that following the circulation of a draft version of the Listening Well Report to all Leeds City Councillors ahead of a full council debate on the Managed Approach in November 2020, the Strategic Leads responsible for the Managed Approach have taken the decision to no longer work with the Voice of Holbeck. South Leeds Life understands that Leeds Citizens, who set up and helped facilitate the Listening Well project, felt they had to step away from the project when the draft report was shared, as they felt Voice of Holbeck were acting in a party political manner. The Voice of Holbeck said: “(We are) disappointed in the Strategic Leads approach to the findings of this report and all involved hope that Leeds City Council and partners will take seriously the experiences of those interviewed and surveyed for the report, putting into place many if not all of the recommendations.” Speaking on behalf of the Beeston & Holbeck Ward councillors, Cllr Gohar Almass told South Leeds Life: “We as local councillors always want to hear the voice of residents, whatever they are saying, and as such, we have supported the Listening Well Campaign and the process, with at least one of us attending every single event, if
not all three of us. We will review the report carefully and consider its findings. “That said, we are disappointed that the report is being published now when the Voice of Holbeck had committed to going through a fact checking process with Safer Leeds which has not happened. This commitment was reaffirmed as recently as 21 January. This lack of due process completely unnecessarily diminishes the impact of the report and has sadly led some members of the Voice of Holbeck to quit the group.” Cllr Debra Coupar, Leeds City Council’s executive member with responsibility for Safer Leeds, said: “I would like to reassure the local residents and all stakeholders in Holbeck that we remain absolutely committed to listening, learning and engaging directly with them regarding all aspects of the Managed Approach and how it develops moving forwards. “We recognise that a key issue for us is to ensure we have the most effective way of connecting with as broad range of local people as possible so they can be kept informed about our work and that their ideas and thoughts can be considered and taken forward where it is appropriate to do so. In developing this approach we are also directly responding to one of the recommendations in the recently published Independent Review which suggested the current ways in which we were seeking to do
this were not as effective as they could be. “Our work supporting local people is a priority for us due to the importance of responding to concerns in a way that can be both seen and acknowledged locally by every person who has an interest in the local area. “Much has been done through our work with the ‘Voice of Holbeck’ group, including our involvement in the ‘Listening Well’ events where we met with number of local people keen to share their experiences with us. This feedback will be analysed and used to help shape our partnership work moving forward. Our efforts are now focused on extending our reach in terms of our engagement work with the wider Holbeck community in order to achieve this aim. “By moving in this direction, we believe it will lead to more people or groups in Holbeck having an opportunity to engage with us as we progress issues identified in both the Independent Review and the Listening Well report. By doing so, they will be able to have their say on the way in which we are responding to the community safety issues in the area and particularly those that are associated with street sex work.” Voice of Holbeck have taken out a four page supplement in this newspaper to present their views on the report. You can get a copy of the Listening Well report by emailing: voiceholbeck@gmail.com
esidents are being urged to take up postal voting to avoid pandemic related complications at polling stations. On Thursday 6 May 2021 elections are scheduled to elect councillors to Leeds City Council and a mayor for the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. A devolution deal for West Yorkshire was signed into law on Friday 29 January, which will see the combined authority mayor given new powers in the region. Currently elections are planned to take place despite Covid-19, but some disruption is anticipated due to changes to polling stations, as some locations are unsuitable for social distancing. Distancing measures are likely to be in place meaning there could be queues and voters will be asked to wear a mask or face-covering if able to do so and use hand sanitiser as well as other safety measures. The council is encouraging voters to ease potential strain on polling stations by using a postal vote instead. For the general election in December 2019, more than one in five of those people who voted did so
by post. Households will shortly receive a letter and forms by post, but it is also possible to download an application form at www.leeds.gov.uk/yourcouncil/elections/postal-votin g The deadline to apply for a postal vote for elections is 5pm on Tuesday 20 April, but residents are being asked to apply as soon as possible to help manage increased demand. If the elections are postponed, all postal vote applications made for 6 May will be valid for the rescheduled date. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our Helpline on (0113) 222 4411, or email: electors@leeds.gov.uk Tom Riordan, Returning Officer and Chief Executive at Leeds City Council, said: “It is always important people exercise their democratic right, and an easy way to do so, in the safest way possible, is by registering for postal voting. If you do, you can opt to vote by post at future elections. This will be one of the most logistically challenging elections we’ve ever seen, and it is important we do everything we can to make them happen as smoothly as possible.”
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South Leeds Life | March 2021
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4 News
On the beat
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Work on Hunslet ‘town square’ set to proceed D
by Insp Lucy Leadbeater
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his month has been another very challenging (and very cold month) for us policing South Leeds and we have been as busy as ever keeping the communities of South Leeds safe. We have continued to work hard to tackle the illegal supply of drugs and have had some excellent results including the recovery of over £300,000 of cannabis plants at an address in Beeston last month. Seizures like this are essential to tackle organised criminality, modern day slavery and anti-social behaviour. Another seizure of £50,000 worth of cannabis earlier this month has resulted in a male being remanded at court and is now on remand awaiting trial. An integral part of Neighbourhood Policing is engaging with communities, listening to your concerns and acting on the information that you provide us. At the end of January we were made aware of suspicious and nuisance activity in Bismark Street. We deployed officers on a regular basis and on one evening they sighted a group acting suspiously. The group ran off, however one male was detained and searched and found to be in possession of a number of weapons and Class B drugs. The male was arrested and the weapons have now been taken off the street. The
Off the streets: knife, drugs and cash investigation into the offences is continuing. I am pleased to be able to report that crime figures have continued to fall across West Yorkshire, with an 8.8% reduction in offences across our county from September 2019 to September 2020. This means that there have been 25,840 fewer victims in this period and we will continue to work hard to continue the decrease and ensure that we are preventing crime and safeguarding victims. Despite the decrease in crime we continue to focus on domestic abuse and are aware that due to currently being in national lockdown people may feel that they cannot contact anyone for help. I want to remind anyone reading this that the Police are still here to help anyone suffering domestic abuse and that we have a number of methods that you can contact us including an on-line reporting form and the ‘Silent Solution’ for 999 calls. The silent solution is when the caller is unable to speak or request police to the initial operator, if the caller presses 55 on the phone this will then
£300,000 of cannabis seizes thanks to community intelligence
be transferred to the police. In addition, there is other support available such as ‘Ask for Ani’ which is a service that victims of domestic abuse can access support safely and discreetly at participating pharmacies (see attached picture). Domestic abuse is not always physical violence. It can also include: • coercive control and ‘gaslighting’ • economic abuse • online abuse • threats and intimidation • emotional abuse • sexual abuse What signs to look for: If you believe that you or someone else could be a victim of domestic abuse, there are signs that you can look out for including: • being withdrawn, or being isolated from family and friends • having bruises, burns or bite marks • having finances controlled, or not being given enough to buy food or pay bills • not being allowed to leave the house, or stopped from going to college or work • having your internet or social media use monitored, or someone else reading your texts, emails or letters • being repeatedly belittled, put down or told you are worthless • being pressured into sex • being told that abuse is your fault, or that you’re overreacting If you are worried that someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, you can call Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline for free, confidential support, 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247.
espite the difficult financial position Leeds City Council is in due to the combined ongoing costs of responding to the pandemic and reduced central government grants, Hunslet and Riverside Councillors have welcomed the news that the majority of the funding promised for improvements to the paved area in-between Hunslet Community Hub and Library and the Penny Hill Centre, has been retained. The initial budget of £250,000 to create a town/market square has been scaled back to a still significant £150,000 and Councillors say the overall ambition for the space has not changed, but that improvements will now be built in “phases” over a number of years to allow more funding to become available. Designs will now be drawn up to allow this phased approach to happen and for initial
A new Town Square for Hunslet improvements to be built as soon as possible. Cllr Mohammed Iqbal on behalf of the ward Councillors said: “It is disappointing the initial funding has been scaled back to help the Council balance its budget this year but it is a sign of confidence in the shared ambition of Cllr Elizabeth Nash, Cllr Paul Wray and I, to
rejuvenate the public realm in this part of the ward, that most of the funding is still being provided. We will continue to look for additional funding to complete later phases as soon as we can.” Once designs are finalised, they will be shared with the public and the hope is, work on the new public space will begin in the first half of 2021.
Welcome to Hunslet sign gets Councillors’ backing
The proposed site for the sign at the junction of Low Road and Church Street. Photo: Google Streetview
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riginally proposed by local residents in late 2018, Hunslet Tenants and Residents Association (TARA) have approached local Councillors and Council to formally ask for their support and help to create a “Welcome to Hunslet” sign. The proposal is to locate the sign on Church Street, near to the junction of Low Road. The proposed theme, like the popular Welcome to Hunslet Carr sign on Balm Road, will be linked to the railway heritage of Hunslet, with Middleton Railway having agreed in principle to offer a wagon wheel as a component of any new sign. The aspiration of the TARA is to have something unique for the area which will be distinct to the one located in Hunslet Carr. Stewart Walton, Hunslet
TARA Chair said: “It has been great to see more investment in the area in the last few years and to work with the Councillors to make a difference. I think adding a welcome sign to Church Street will really strengthen the sense of community we know exists here” Councillors have confirmed their support for the idea and have asked Council officers to request quotes for several possible designs. These will then be consulted on with local residents. Highways Leeds have also been asked to identify the best location on Church Street for its location should the project go ahead. Cllr Mohammed Iqbal added: “Alongside the Hunslet Community Hub and Library redevelopment, the upgrades to Church Street Playground,
the planned new Town Square and plans to improve local biodiversity; the proposed welcome sign will be a great addition to the area and complement our commitment as Councillors to value the areas proud history and invest in its future.” Hunslet TARA are keen to hear you views on the sign and people can comment on what they would like to see at: yourvoice.leeds.gov.uk/ welcome-to-hunslet Hunslet TARA are also seeking your ideas on improvements to the greenspace situated between the Balmorals, Rochefords, Midlands and Hemmingways. You can comment on the idea of picnic benches and share your own ideas at: yourvoice.leeds.gov.uk/hunslet -greenspace
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News 5
Olympian Alistair Brownlee backs campaign for Stourton bridge by Jeremy Morton
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lympic triathlon star, Alistair Brownlee MBE, has leant his support to the campaign to make a major Leeds and regional cycling and walking route accessible to all. The canal tow-path forms part of the scenic Trans Pennine Trail and Sustrans’ National Cycle Network and is well used by cyclists, walkers and runners. The route crosses the canal using the bridge on Skelton Grange Road in Stourton, but the only access on the north bank is a narrow set of steps. The steep and often slippery steps at the Bridge make access to the tow-path very difficult for anyone with a bike and impossible for people in wheelchairs or with chronic health conditions. Many riders with e-bikes, families with buggies, mobility scooter users and others with disabilities are prevented from using the Trail. Alistair Brownlee said: “The Aire and Calder canal tow path has just been resurfaced and is a fantastic active travel corridor. It makes up part of the Trans Pennine Trail and the Sustrans’ National cycle network and is a great commuter route into the city centre. It is a quiet and traffic free path that winds its way through natural and green habitats even though the user is never far from habitation. Promoting and increasing its usage are fantastic causes. “Unfortunately, at the moment, access to it is restricted to users who can make it down a steep and narrow flight of steps. The creation of a new bridge here would be a very positive step for all of the current users and more importantly open up the
Census 2021: Ensuring the big decisions are made on the best information C
Walkers, runners and cyclists queue to use the steps at Skelton Grange Road bridge path to many more. We all know the importance of health and activity, especially in the current climate. This project would be of real benefit to all parts of the local community.” These steps have been an obstacle for at least 30 years and must be replaced, argues Leeds Cycling Campaign. Ambitious Government and City Council plans to reduce car use and increase cycling for commuting and leisure will be impossible to deliver if this major traffic-free route linking Leeds with Wakefield and beyond is not upgraded to make it accessible for everyone. 2,200 people have already signed the Leeds Cycling Campaign petition calling for action. In 2006 a feasibility study undertaken by Leeds City Council recommended a new pedestrian and cycling bridge at Skelton Grange. Another option would involve re-routing the path through the Council owned Thwaites Mill museum. Leeds Cycling Campaign is
working with Leeds City Council, Leeds Local Access Forum, Leeds Civic Trust, Sustrans, the Canals and Rivers Trust and the Friends of the Trans Pennine Trail to explore both these options. Gerri Kostrzewa, Chair of Leeds Cycling Campaign said: “We believe that both potential solutions need to be explored as a matter of priority, in the interest of public health and active travel. “Funding needs to be found to undertake further feasibility work and deliver the best option for everyone as soon as possible. “We believe that providing access for everyone at Skelton Grange Road Bridge is a major test of our ambition, in Leeds and West Yorkshire, to create a sustainable, safe and socially just city.” As we reported last month, work is due to be undertaken on the bridge as part of the energy from waste incinerator to be built on the Skelton Grange power station site. However, the current plans will
not remove or bypass the steps. The working group looking at cycling issues in Inner South Leeds was recently given an update by Council officers on possible solutions. The working group was attended by Cllr Peter Carlill (LCC’s Active Travel Champion) and included local Councillors Paul Wray, Kim Groves and Andrew Scopes as well as Sustrans, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and others. South Leeds Life understands that retro-fitting the existing bridge, though feasible, would provide a substandard crossing point for cyclists and those with mobility issues. Work is now underway to see if a safe route through Thwaite Mills is possible. If not, attention will turn to finding a site and funding for a new bridge. Cllr Paul Wray (Hunslet & Riverside commented: “The commitment to find a solution is there amongst all partners, but none of the likely scenarios are straightforward.”
Climate Corner: @LittleLitterSociety H
Heidi on her YouTube channel
March 2021 | South Leeds Life
eidi Commons from Middleton has started a YouTube channel to get the message out about saving the environment. “I started to believe we can make a change when I was little. People around my block made posters and went litter picking every day with me as their leadership. As soon as I got access to the internet, I created the 'LittleLitterSociety' which is now becoming more accessible to the public. It is my life-long dream to
make everyone do their part, so here is a start. “Scientists believe if we reduce the climate change rate by 80% by 2050, we have a great chance of avoiding the corruption. Our next generation is in this timeline, especially as children we should learn to pass the facts and solutions on. “Be sure to visit my Instagram & YouTube to find out more and learn about other problems and solutions: @LittleLitterSociety”
ensus 2021 will be key to making sure the big decisions on the future of our hospitals, schools, transport and other public services, following the pandemic and EU exit, are based on the best information possible. Run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the census – taking place on Sunday 21 March 2021 – is the once-in-adecade survey that gives the most accurate estimate of all people and households in England and Wales. The digital-first census will not only provide a fresh picture of the size of all communities, it will also shed light on the health, social and economic changes to our lives. Pete Benton, Census Director of Operations, commented: “After years of planning, the census is almost upon us. In the coming days and weeks you will be hearing more and more about why the census is so important, why you must take part and, crucially, how you can take part. Every household will soon receive a postcard, explaining what a census is, and in early March letters will arrive in the post inviting people to take part in the digital-first census. “In light of the coronavirus pandemic, we need this up-todate information to help shape vital services for the years to come more urgently than ever before and we are making sure everyone can be safely counted in line with all government guidance. We have made it simple, straightforward and safe to take part. It takes just 10 minutes per person to fill out your form and if you can’t get online, there are paper forms available for those who need them, as well as lots of support. Now is the time to
Census Day is Sunday 21 March
make your mark on history.” Running the census in times of a pandemic has naturally thrown up some challenges and the ONS’ focus is ensuring the safety of the public. “We want everyone to be safely counted and we’re making sure our plans are always in line with the latest government guidelines,” Pete said. “Census field officers will only follow up with households after Census Day on 21 March if householders have not yet completed their questionnaire. They will never enter a household, they will always be socially distanced, be equipped with PPE and work in line with all government guidance.” Some questions also have updated guidance to reflect our changed living and working circumstances. Pete added: “For those on furlough, we have updated guidance on how to answer questions on work. All students need to be included in the census, and they should complete it for their usual termtime address. If they’re currently living at their home address, they will need to be included in the census for that household too.” For the first time, there will be a question asking people whether they have served in the armed forces, as well as voluntary questions for those aged 16 and over on sexual orientation and gender identity. First results will be available within 12 months, although personal records will be locked away for 100 years, kept safe for future generations. For more information, visit census.gov.uk or contact your local engagement manager, Scott Anthony Martin: scott.martin64@field.census .gov.uk
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South Leeds Life | March 2021
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6 News
Employment advice by Wayne Dixon
T
he last year has been so difficult for many, with uncertainty, redundancies and unemployment hitting many families across the area. I work as an employment adviser supporting people with mental illness who are looking to move into work, return to work or simply remain in work. I see people with various levels of employment history, many have no idea where to start with job searching and their CV. Some people are looking for their first paid role and others who have worked in one place for many years - have never had to write a CV before. I hope these basic tips might help people to move forward, but remember there is no secret formula to this and even more is available than what’s stated. Your CV Keep it simple and easy to read, imagine you are the employer skimming it for the information you want. Click here for a word template which contains some advice. • Keep it to a maximum of two pages where possible. • Keep it relevant and look at the job description, make sure that it’s clear why you’ll be able to deliver in that role. • When listing your work history, start with the latest role and provide 5-10 years history and summarise the rest in a paragraph. • Try your best to add employment dates, the month and year as a minimum. • Can you relate your hobbies and interests to the role? If yes, do it. • Be positive about yourself, it’s difficult to say good things about yourself, but that’s exactly what you need to do. • Make sure it reflect who you are. • Check your spelling and grammar. • Keep it short and don’t be scared to leave off experience that isn’t relevant to the role.
• Don’t include your date of birth or a photo (nobody should be judged on how they look or their age). • Ask a friend or family to read it and get their opinions. Cover Letter Stand out from the crowd. Too many people ignore the Cover Letter, but it’s a simple way for employers to narrow down the numbers, it is a vital tool to get noticed. Click here for a word template that’s easily edited. Further Advice and Support If you feel you need more advice (after lockdown), contact your local community hub. Most community hubs now have employment advisors in their job clubs and they are well worth the visit. BITMO offer a free job club on a Thursday afternoon, so hopefully that will be back running after lockdown. Support is also available for people in selected areas across South Leeds from Hamara through their CLLD funded Connected project, www.hamara.org.uk/ourservices/projects/educationemployment-training/ Engage Leeds offer employment advice, you can self-refer on (0113) 380 7615. Job sites My first tip would be to make job searching a part of your routine and give yourself a target of how many to apply for per week, you may want to discuss this with your job centre advisor (if applicable). There are lots of job sites out there, do try not to get overwhelmed by joining them all as many employers will add their roles to several sites. The most popular ones seem to be as below, upload your CV and remember to use a cover letter. • www.indeed.com • www.gov.uk/find-a-job • www.reed.co.uk • www.totaljobs.com Volunteering Consider adding volunteering as your work history if you haven’t worked before or simply haven’t for a while. If you start
volunteering, it’s a great way of learning new skills, adding to your CV and helping in your community all in one. A great place to find volunteering opportunities is here: doinggoodleeds.org.uk/ volunteering Apprenticeships The common misconception is that apprenticeships are only for young people, but that’s not the case, anyone of any age can now apply for an apprenticeship, if it’s for you – do it. You’ll get paid while you train for new role. You can find apprenticeships here; www.apprenticeships.org.uk Courses Another way of developing your skills is to take a short course, many are FREE, but please check your eligibility with the course provider. The Leeds Adult Learning website has lots to choose from, leedsadultlearning.co.uk If you have a disability, mental illness and you are unemployed, an excellent employability course can be accessed via Scope called ‘Starting Line’, www.scope .org.uk/starting-line In work support for those with a disability can be accessed via Scope’s ‘Kickstart’ programme, www.scope.org.uk/kickstart If you want to retrain, you are never too old to go back to college and local colleges will help you find the appropriate course. Always check if you are eligible for funding to cover the course fees, by asking the colleges welfare department. Leeds City College leedscitycollege.ac.uk/ourcourses Leeds College of Building www.lcb.ac.uk Swarthmore Education Centre www.swarthmore.org.uk Welfare/ Benefits Advice Lastly, if you need benefits/ welfare advice, contact the Council’s welfare rights team on (0113) 376 0452. Mon–Wed 9am–4.30pm; Thu 9am–3.30pm; Fri 9am–4pm.
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Take a Seat with the Friends of Middleton Park A
s an organisation which works to make a great city, better, Leeds Civic Trust has been in admiration of how local communities have come together during the Covid-19 pandemic. Much like their Blue Plaques, they wanted to commemorate this time in our shared history by bringing a bit of colour to our streets. As well as providing a useful place to sit, benches have also traditionally been used to commemorate people and events. Rather than the usual brass plaque the Trust has commissioned a series of hand painted benches that will each tell their own individual stories. The ‘Take a Seat’ initiative which will see a colourful community of benches, from Guiseley to Beeston, Horsforth to Gipton, providing a place to contemplate the last year, and by their imaginative designs allow local communities to tell their individual Covid story. 15 benches will be decorated, painted, carved and curated by a variety of local groups and arts organisations who submitted successful applications to the Civic Trust. They will be making their way into our parks, green spaces, community centres and high streets this June. Leeds Civic Trust Director, Martin Hamilton said; “It has been an incredibly difficult year for the city, but it has brought out the very best in us. We wanted to show our appreciation to the people of Leeds for their resilience, care and kindness. ‘Take a Seat’ hopefully goes some way to showing our admiration. “The response to our call-out has been wonderful, and we very much look forward to working with the successful groups during the next few months. “We hope come June, members of the public will spot these special ‘Take a Seat’ benches and it will bring people some much needed cheer, or a quiet place to reflect on what an emotional time it has been.” One of the successful groups are Friends of Middleton Park and their spokesperson, Secretary and Trustee, Rachel Darton said; “We are very excited to be one of the groups chosen to receive a Take a Seat bench, which we intend to place in Middleton Park. “Whilst restrictions have been in place, we have seen an increase in the number of
people visiting the park, concerned for the welfare of the wildlife, and using it as a place where they have found comfort and peace. We are so lucky to have such a lovely green space available to us in South Leeds. “We want to reflect the importance of the park to the local community through the design of the bench and we would like local residents to get involved. “Our ideas for the design include a central image of a white swan, surrounded by other colourful pictures that represent Middleton Park, like flowers, trees, dogs, the Middleton Railway, cycling and
mining. We also thought about including images of people holding hands. “A nice quotation has also been suggested: ‘And at all times a place of repose and refreshment of spirit for busy workaday folk.’ “Through this design we aim to show how the community has come together at a very difficult time, to look after the swans, each other and also to enjoy the Park.” Please get in touch with Friends of Middleton Park, with your thoughts, or if you would like to be involved in creating the design or painting the bench. Email: info@fomp.co.uk or visit their Facebook page.
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March 2021 | South Leeds Life
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News 7
Who gives a C.R.A.P. for South Leeds? S
outh Leeds residents have set up a new scheme called CRAP* South Leeds (*Conserving Resources Associating People) - to enable people across LS10 and LS11 to share unwanted items for reuse by others. Based on well-established CRAP schemes across Leeds and the UK, the group centres around a Facebook group - with people able to offer or request any item that others might want or have. The organisers also hope that it might evolve into a place where people can borrow and lend items that they don't need constantly. The initiative is associated with like-minded local projects including the Big Bike Fix, and Digital Access South Leeds who take donations of bicycles and IT kit respectively, refurbish them, and redistribute them back into the community. The group has taken off at a rate of knots, with over 500 members joining in the first week, and scores of posts offering furniture, kids and baby items, books, homeware, amongst other items.
In other established CRAP groups, an incredible range of items are shared and reused: old wellies become bird boxes, pallets become furniture and grass cuttings become garden mulch for example. Some South Leeds members are also helping out by moving items for those without transport. Community activist Ed Carlisle, who helped establish the group, said: "Many thanks to all those who have dived in, and made this such a success so far. It's another win-win scheme: people get to declutter, and others get good stuff for free. Together, we're saving money, reducing waste, saving the planet, and building a stronger community." Credit also to Beth Bingley, Sharon Burke, Kay-Lee Asquith and Becky Kellett for prompting and co-leading this. NOTE: during the Covid-19 pandemic, members are asked to take every precaution to stay safe, by sanitising hands and items (and quarantining them where possible), keeping their distance.
Signs of Spring Photo Competition Spring has started to show itself with snowdrops and crocuses starting to flower and even bluebell shoots appearing. As you are out taking your exercise we encourage you to look for signs of spring and take a photo. We will be awarding prizes for the best shots and publishing them in our April and May editions. There are two categories: Under 18s and 18+ and two prizes of £10 each month for the winners and £5 for the runners up. Send your photos to info@southleedslife.com and put ‘Photo Competition’ in the subject box.
Crisp Packet Project to Residents cry foul over help the homeless river tree-felling
Emma with a survival sheet made from crisp packets
by Betty Virago
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brilliant way of recycling empty crisp packets and helping homeless people has begun in Leeds and needs your help. Emma from Belle Isle spotted the project in Hastings and decided to bring it to Leeds. The project uses used crisp packets with the silver linings, ironing them together and covering them in a waterproof plastic lining (recycled from supermarket packaging). These are then turned into useful items for homeless people on the streets of Leeds. Survival sheets, Bivvy bags, Pillow cases, tote bags and dog bed mats are just some of the items Emma and her growing
number of volunteers have created so far and handed out to people through the Hidden Homeless Leeds group. The project started as a way for Emma to recycle landfill plastic and help the homeless, but is growing into a much needed resource and she needs help to continue the amazing work. The project needs: • Empty Crisp Packets (preferably washed) • Clear Plastic sheeting from large delivery items • A base to store and accept donations • Lots of volunteers to help iron and make the items The crisp packets are washed, dried and ironed to make sheets, then covered in
industrial clear sheeting and turned into heat reflective and waterproof items which are so useful for people living on the streets in wet conditions. A bivvy bag uses 150 crisp packets which are ironed together and takes quite a bit of time, so Emma is looking for volunteers willing to help iron together items in their own homes. It’s a slow process, but the whole item uses materials which would have gone to landfill. It’s also a way to help others whilst self-isolating at home. Emma has started a Facebook group where you can find out more about the project or you can contact Emma at: cppleeds2020@gmail.com Debbie Wren, Community Champion adds: “Morrisons Hunslet are proud to announce we have become a drop off point for CPP Leeds. You will find our new green collection bin at the store exit to pop your empty crisp packets into. Special thanks to Cllr Paul Wray for organising a bin from Kirkstall Recycling Site for us to use. We are so gratefull and look forward to helping this charity grow.”
H
igh-voltage power specialist Engineered Systems Electrical (ESE) is p Residents on the Hunslet riverside are accusing the Canal and River Trust (CRT) of “environmental vandalism”, turning the local riverbank into a “barren wasteland” after unannounced tree-felling along the River Aire this last month. On 18 and 19 February a large team of contractors on barges, felled several dozen mature trees with chainsaws on the stretch of river between Leeds Dock and Thwaite Mills. The work had not been preannounced locally, even though residents last year formed a ‘Friends of the Aire’ community group – specifically for dialogue and collaboration with CRT, the national charity that manages the majority of UK rivers and canals. Seán McGinley, the regional CRT director, insisted in a statement that it was essential maintenance on trees that either compromised the sight lines of boaters, or posed a safety hazard. He stated that all such work followed an Environmental Appraisal, and that communication with local
stakeholders was not always practical. But Karen Peters, core member of the Friends group and riverside resident, said: “We understand essential maintenance must take place, but CRT’s wholesale approach to taking trees down, or coppicing them to within an inch of their lives, has left a wasteland. “Those trees were key parts of the local ecosystem. They help prevent flooding. They blocked the Cross Green
industrial estate from view: not any more. “And they were genuinely uplifting, like the very pictures CRT use on their website to promote the waterways! Their response was disappointingly basic and dismissive, but we’re going form a more robust accountable relationship with them for the future.” For more info or to get involved with the Friends of the Aire, find them on Facebook. More on the CRT at: canalrivertrust.org.uk
Members of Friends of the Aire survey the felled trees
O T N IG A P M A C E H T JOIN N A L A C O H A L L U D B A FREE IN E C A E P T U O B A G IN R B P L E H T S A E E L D ID M E H T D N A Y E K R TU
The situation In Turkey and the Middle East is spirating out of control - the international community must act now and demand an end to the violence and bloodshed. No people have suffered more from this aggression than the Kurdish population. The Kurdish people have made heroic efforts to defeat ISIS on the battlefield and build a new society in North East Syria (Rojave). The Kurdish people have made repeated calls for a peaceful negotiated solution to the conflict. Despite this, the world has stood by and watched as they are attacked, massacred and ethnically cleansed by Turkish Troops and their allied millitias. Between 2013-2015 a peace process did exist between the Turkish government and the imprisoned Kurdish political leader Abdullah Ocalan, President Erdogan abruptly abandoned it in favour of a return to violence and bloodshed.
The time has come for this this to stop. The time has come for a new peace process. The time has come to end 22 years of imprisonment and inhumane solitary confinement suffered by Abdullah Ocalan and to allow him to play his vital role to bring about peace. The Freedom for Ocalan campaign calls on all political leaders, civil society and the wider international Community to act now before it is too late. Join the campaign to unlock the doors to peace and support our calls for: • An immediate end to the isolation and the release of imprisoned Kurdish political leader Abdullah Ocalan • An end to the politcal persecution of all opposition figures and the release of all political prisoners held in Turkish jails An end to Turkey`s military operations in North East Syria and Iraq
PLEASE SUPPORT THBIS Y: VITAL EFFORT TODAY
Going to: www.freedomforocalan.org and registering your support Making a donation to the campaign if you can Writing to your MP and asking them to publicly support the campaign Raising the issue and asking for support at every opportunity
• A new peace process with full international involvement and support.
SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN TO FREE OCALAN Published by Rebwar Sharazure, Kurdish House Leeds
> JOIN AND DONATE >
WWW.FREEDOMFOROCALAN.ORG
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March 2021 | South Leeds Life
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News 9
“The best of us” – the volunteers at Slung Low’s foodbank by Jeremy Morton
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very Wednesday morning a team descends on the Holbeck club and the Slung Low foodbank springs into life. As we’ve reported previously, when the pandemic hit last year, Slung Low redirected their theatrical skills from organising shows to running a foodbank for people in LS11 and beyond. I’m proud to say that since Christmas I’ve been part of that team. We give up our time to pack food, or deliver it around South Leeds and beyond. At the moment we’re reaching over 200 households each week. Each crate has a week’s worth of food. Some weeks there is also an activity pack, advice leaflets or even a copy of this newspaper. In return for our time, Slung Low gives a simple, but very tasty lunch supplied by Manjit’s Kitchen. Over lunch I spoke to some of the volunteers about why they do it. There were some common themes: breaking the boredom of lockdown; meeting and chatting with others in person; and a sense of communality, working together for the common good. There was a feeling that whilst were are all happy to step in, people shouldn’t have to be relying on foodbanks. But let’s here from the volunteers themselves. I started with friends Helena and Dee, who together with Dee’s husband come over from Roundhay. Dee tells be she got Covid last March and once she’d recovered, she was looking for something to do.
“I saw a message from Alan (Lane, artistic director at Slung Low) on Twitter saying they were short of drivers, so I came down and helped out and I’ve been coming back ever since. “I think sometimes you don’t realise how much people are struggling. We’re very fortunate: mortgage paid, heating on, fridge full, and you get cocooned into this little world thinking lockdown’s not too bad. Actually, for an awful lot of people it is.” Helena adds: “There is undoubtedly something really empowering about doing something collectively for somebody else. It sounds kind of corny but it’s true, it makes you feel better about yourself.” Natalie is much more local, living in Holbeck. She asked her neighbour, Ruth Saxton who works for Slung Low, about volunteering jobs and came down to help at the foodbank. “I’ve been doing it since last October and I’m still doing it. I look after my mum and dad pretty much full time and I’m home schooling my kids at the moment, so I kind of feel this is my thing, like a break. This is my chill time, it’s just on a Wednesday morning and I absolutely love it.” John works in the arts and has known Slung Low for years. He’s another that answered the Tweet calling for drivers. “I’m freelance so although I’ve been lucky enough to work through most of the year, I can take time to volunteer here. It’s good, I enjoy getting out of the house.”
‘A Multigenerational Team’ by Tom Lukis
NEWS IN BRIEF Construction starts at Holbeck’s historic Tower Works Work has started to build 245 new homes at the historic Tower Works site on Globe Road in the South Bank area of Holbeck. Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd has commenced ground works on the 1.13 hectare site and construction is expected to complete early 2023. It is expected that up to 275 local jobs will be created during the construction phase. Tower Works was established in the 1860s as a steel pin factory for carding and combing in the textile industry, the works closed in 1981. The original Victorian buildings, designed by Thomas Shaw, are famous for their Italianate influence which is most obvious in the three prominent towers.
‘Collection’ by Tom Lukis Alex found out through his girlfriend who has worked with Slung Low. He’s not working at the moment and said: “I’ve got free time and a car so when I heard they were looking for drivers I got in touch. It’s been really good, I really enjoy it and it’s something to do on a Wednesday.” John tells me he enjoys the little conversations on the doorstep. “I always try to spark some short conversation. I always ask how they are, then it might just be something about Leeds United, or the weather, or how bored everyone is, it just starts something. I like to see how much warmth I can give with the small amount of face you can see above the mask.” Alex adds: “When there are kids (in the house) they get
really excited about the food coming, that’s nice.” Abi, a chef on furlough, lives a ten minute bike ride away in the city centre. She’s part of the packing team. “I like it, I always like things that bring all the community together, it’s a nice atmosphere” she tells me. “It’s nice to know that you’re doing something to help everyone else out. With so much time on my hands it’s better than sitting at home doing nothing. “I live in a flat, no garden. It’s not like the first lockdown with lots of sun. It’s much better to be around people and talk to whoever you’re working with in person and not on a screen.” Beth works in a school and has been volunteering on and off since last April, depending on whether the schools are open or not. She contacted Voluntary Action Leeds at the start of the pandemic and they matched her to Slung Low. “I know I’m really privileged to have a car, to be able to afford my rent and I can keep food on the table, I’m so lucky. It’s the least I can do to try and support people who aren’t as lucky as me” she tells me. “Since I started volunteering it’s just opened my eyes even wider (to the problems of deprivation), I’m more passionate about it. “I was aware of deprivation, but then to come face to face with it, it’s made me even more angry that there’s such inequality – there’s people with so much and people with so little. We’re all weathering the same storm, but some people are in very different boats.
“It’s overwhelming how nice people are, it’s not their fault that they’re in need of food. People are so polite and so grateful. I’m just upset that people feel the need to thank me.” Finally, I caught up with Alan Lane, who along with the rest of the Slung Low team, organise everything from buying in food, taking referrals and organising the volunteers. I asked him about the volunteers. “The volunteers are extraordinary; I mean this effort …” he gestures around the room that earlier held 200 crates of food. “So last year we did 8,188 referrals. The Council worked really hard to do that, we worked really hard to do that, but the lion’s share of all of that effort is the volunteers. “It is impossible to put a financial cost to it, it’s that big an endeavour but thanks to the volunteers it’s possible. They graft, some of them arrive at 7:30 in the morning. “So they are the very best of us and what’s lovely is they keep coming back and as the different lockdowns kick in, they keep arriving back. “It’s very hard for me to admire them more than I do.” I feel the volunteers really buy into Slung Low’s motto, emblazened in neon lights on the side of the club:
If you need food, text your name and address to 07305 155698 before Wednesday.
New ‘Aire Loft’ riverside apartments launched by Citu Leading sustainable developer Citu has launched Aire Lofts, the first apartments at its award-winning Climate Innovation District in Hunslet, that offer city centre living, combined seamlessly with world-leading sustainability credentials. Consisting of 108 mainly one and two-bedroom apartments, with a handful of bespoke penthouses, Aire Lofts has been designed around open, shared spaces, including a large central green, designed to bring residents together and create a vibrant community with health and well-being at its heart.
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South Leeds Life | March 2021
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10 School Life
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Kids Together: Half-term Holbeck fun by Matthew Springthorne
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lthough we were only able to meet online or together safely within restrictions, Holbeck Together organised a jam-packed week of fun this half-term. Local children and their families joined us for a range of online activities throughout the week. They also enjoyed lots of nutritious, home-cooked meals, as well as pancakes of course! Flippin’ Marvellous! To celebrate Pancake Day, local families were able to collect our Pancake recipe kits. These included a list of ingredients and instructions, a frying pan, pancake mix and most importantly, a choice of tasty toppings. 18 families joined us on Zoom for a live cook-along with lots of frying and flipping! Animal-themed Family Quiz Afternoon Families were able to collect quiz activity packs from St Matthew’s community centre at the start of the week. These contained instructions for the quiz, pens and templates to decorate animal-themed masks, and lots of sweet treats to enjoy too. Children of all ages joined us on Zoom for the afternoon, masquerading as all kinds of animals! “What a great quiz, we all had so much fun!” Keeley “Thank you Holbeck Together, the girls absolutely loved the quiz afternoon!” Rachel Scavenger Hunt For our final activity of the
Healthy Food
week, families wrapped up warm and enjoyed a walk around Holbeck to see if they could spot some signs of spring that had popped up around the community. Wholesome Meals Families collected fruit and veg hampers at the start of the week which included lots of ingredients for them to make their own nutritious meals, such as milk, bread, eggs and lots more. They were also able to tuck into our Dinner Jackets free of charge for lunch on Monday and Thursday. To round off the week, families were able to collect their chicken dinner hampers for the whole family to enjoy. Thank You! Huge thanks to Leeds Community Foundation‘s Healthy Holidays funding which has enabled us to support our local children and families to stay healthy and active this half-term. Chris Clyburn from Fullcrumb Kitchen and Dermot, Head Chef at St Vincent’s Leeds, kindly helped us to successfully host our Pancake Day extravaganza. Thank you also to Morrison’s Hunslet for their kind donation of fresh pizza kits for families to enjoy, and TransUnion for their delicious homemade flapjacks which were given to families as part of their lunch. Look out for updates on future activities and get in touch with Holbeck Together if you’d like to join us. Ring (0113) 245 5553, email: info@holbecktogether.org
DePuy volunteers help Hugh Gaitskell with half term food A team of volunteers from the staff at DePuy Synthes delivered nearly 200 lunchtime hamper parcels to pupils from Hugh Gaitskell Primary School to make sure no one had a hungry half term holiday. The food hampers were prepared by Leeds City Council instead of the Government’s voucher scheme, giving families better value for money. The team, led by Kerry Seymour had also help to delivery loaner school laptops for the children during February reaching over 50 homes aroiund Beeston and Holbeck.
Ingram Road shortlisted for breakfast club award A
school in Holbeck has been chosen as a finalist for Yorkshire and Humber as part of the annual Kellogg’s Breakfast Club Awards. If it wins, Ingram Road Primary School will receive a £1,000 cash prize, plus a special party pack to help them celebrate. The Kellogg’s Breakfast Club Awards champion the people and activities that make Breakfast Clubs so great – from inspirational volunteers to invaluable extra learning sessions. Around 30 children attend the breakfast club at Ingram Road Primary every morning before school. During the first national lockdown, the club opened for key worker and vulnerable families and supplied weekly breakfast hampers containing cereals, beans and bagels with the help of Magic Breakfast. During the summer holidays, the club worked closely with their local food bank to ensure families could still access the hampers
when the school was closed. Sarah Millard, Headteacher at Ingram Road Primary said: “We are really excited and incredibly proud to be shortlisted in this year’s Kellogg’s Breakfast Club Awards. “Writing our entry gave us a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the fantastic children who attend every morning, not to mention the hard-working staff. “If we’re lucky enough to win the award for Best Breakfast Club in Yorkshire and Humber we would split the prize money between ensuring the future sustainability of our school breakfast club and supporting our local food bank so that our families remain food secure.” The aim of this year’s Kellogg’s Breakfast Club Awards is to recognise schools all over the UK for the incredible role they have played to educate and safeguard children throughout this pandemic. Kate Prince, Kellogg’s
corporate social responsibility manager for the UK and Ireland, said: “So many clubs across the UK deserve recognition and after receiving 450 applications, it’s been tough to pick our finalists from so many inspiring stories. “Breakfast clubs like the one at Ingram Road Primary School play a vital role in society. Thanks to the staff’s dedication, they support working parents, feed hungry children and offer opportunities
Ingram Road Primary School
to increase informal learning with activities and socialisation. “Kellogg’s has supported Breakfast Clubs for 22 years and this year we’ve seen the clubs face more challenges than ever before so we are delighted to be able to recognise them for all of the hard work and dedication they have put in to keep things going.” A specialist panel of judges will now assess all 52 shortlisted entries across the UK.
The Holbeck Voice A partnership of community organisations including, schools, charities and churches March 2021 Warning Adult Content: Subjects, articles and comments in this supplement may not be suitable for children or people of a nervous disposition In these articles we will use the terms punters & kerb crawlers to distinguish between the men preying on women from Leeds residents going about their normal business. We will use the terms prostituted women and prostitute to distinguish between women selling sex and local women residents. Some names have been changed for confidentiality.
LISTENING WELL TO THE PEOPLE OF HOLBECK T
he Voice of Holbeck, which is made group made up of local community groups and organisations, spent over a year collecting the data before being analysed by the Centre for Health Promotion at Leeds Beckett University. The findings of the report give a detailed understanding of how local communities can be negatively impacted by the encroachment of sex work and anti-social behaviour. Impact on adult residents Both male and female residents said they felt unsafe in Holbeck. Even simple activities like waiting for a bus or visiting the shops during the day and at night left residents at risk of being harassed by Prostitutes and Punters. Residents feel that the Managed Approach acts as a magnet for prostitutes and men who would not dare prowl the streets in other areas of Leeds. Men had concerns about prostitutes jumping into their cars at junctions, or stopping them outside shops to offer them sex. Occasionally, prostitutes were “offended” by being “rejected” and became rude or intimidating. The prostitutes were usually on a cocktail of drugs and alcohol making their behaviour erratic and unpredictable. There were occasional reports of local men being robbed or assaulted by prostitutes. There were also reports of local male residents being threatened by pimps or men who were guarding/ controlling the prostitutes. Women residents complained of being regularly followed by kerb crawlers in cars and asked for sex by punters walking the streets.
Email voiceholbeck@gmail.com to get a copy of the report During the evenings some women residents stay home to avoid the prostitutes and punters roaming the streets. “I was walking in the street when a car pulled up and the male driver asked me if I knew where the prostitutes were located. He then removed a book from his groin and exposed his penis to me. I was 80 years old at the time.” Impact on children The effects of street prostitution on Holbeck's children are far reaching. “I had lived in Holbeck for 6 years before the zone was introduced, it was a decent place to live. We now have
prostitutes on street corners, condoms, wet wipes, gloves, needles on our streets. You can’t let your children play out for fear of what they might see. There’s drug dealers and drug users doing deals on the street corners. You never know what might happen.” School girls in uniform report being asked for sex walking to school or waiting at the bus stop. Sometimes punters just follow them in cars or on foot without speaking to them. Teenage boys are stopped and offered sex for their pocket money. These encounters between
local children and prostitutes/ punters occur at all times during the day, despite the zone only being operational from 8pm to 6am. “Daughter walking down Rydall Terrace … man approached her in a car and asked if she wanted to earn any more, when she said no, he asked if her friends did … She was also approached whilst at high school in her uniform, she was asked if she wanted sex, if she would give a blow job … It has happened to my friends’ children too … this was at 2:15pm in the afternoon, outside of the zone.” Resident, July 2019. “I saw a man take down his trousers and expose himself to a young girl last summer, so I reported it to the Police.” Resident, January 2020. Ingram Road primary school has a diverse racial mix with children who speak many different languages. “84% of parents at the Listening Well school event said they had seen prostitutes in the street. Despite this area being away from the managed zone.” Sex litter, such as used condoms and used drug syringes/needles affect family usage of the parks and green spaces. Families talked about having to check play areas for needles before allowing children to play. There were reports of children picking up used condoms after mistaking them for balloons. “Leeds City Council was seen to be promoting prostitution by some community members and were described as being
complicit with it. Discussion took place about the cost of the area, and whilst there was extensive sympathy for sex workers, residents and businesses felt that the area had been imposed upon them without due consultation, and that the numbers of women working in the area had risen from 32-35 to 140-150 as a result of the zone.” Listening Well Report. Recommendations The community made many recommendations which can be read in full in the Listening Well report. Some of them are: Impact on adult residents • Police to take safeguarding of residents more seriously, with prostitutes and punters who try to sell/buy sex. Extend the time period over which the Police patrol to the entire night, especially in summer when children are more likely to be playing out later on. • Use ANPR / CCTV to identify repeated kerb crawlers and drug dealers. • Neighbourhood Watch to be set up, with residents reporting incidents and then the Police following up. • Tackle the drug issues in the area by taking action against the dealers, rather than just offering drug services. Use community members’ knowledge to
improve police intelligence about drugs. Trial methadone clinics. Several young people wanted to see more action related to drugs. keep individuals with issues away from the area. Target rogue landlords. Impact on children • Young people also recommended increased CCTV and better lighting to ensure that they felt safer, including in the park. • Close some of the shops on an evening as these can be magnets for antisocial behaviour • Create more safe, clean places for children to play • Target the pimps and men who try to buy/sell sex from children, should be treated as sex offenders Impact on Prostitution • Target the pimps and men who exploit the women. • Do more than just give warnings to women who repeatedly break the rules. • Try to rehabilitate the prostitutes who have drug addictions. Put more resources into charities that actually help the women exit sex work. This should be target driven and evidence based. Focus on services that provide counselling, addiction support and help with childhood sexual exploitation
This supplement has been paid for and published by The Voice of Holbeck Contact: 07505 157259 or Email: voiceholbeck@gmail.com
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The Holbeck Voice | March 2021
Sex on the streets of Holbeck: The impact of how did we get here? drug use
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n street prostitution has been a problem in UK cities for many years. In an effort to tidy up the problem in Leeds the City Council in partnership with the Police embarked on a “Managed Approach” trial in October 2014. Holbeck, a deprived suburb in south Leeds was chosen as the area for this experiment and a “managed zone” within an industrial zone bordering on a residential area was designated, without the land owners and businesses being informed. Councillor Mark Dobson was the first lead member on the Leeds City Council Executive Committee with specific responsibility implementing the Managed Approach to Street Prostitution in 2014. Cllr Dobson, now an independent representing Garforth & Swillington, has stated that this Managed Approach has not worked and was underresourced and poorly implemented. In the designated “zone” women involved in street prostitution are allowed to solicit between 8pm and 6am without fear of prosecution. Safer Leeds have always stressed that it was not intended to create a “safe zone”. Rather, the purpose was to create a city wide “approach” and to draw soliciting out of residential streets. Another aim was to economise resources in bringing together policing, welfare services, women’s charities and surveillance. However, there appears to have been little, if any, concerns of this experimental approach. Similar approaches to street prostitution had been tried before in other towns and warnings given to Leeds City Council about impact on communities, the scheme still went ahead resulting in a huge negative impact on both the businesses in the zone and the residential areas nearby in which prostitution has become much more prevalent. As a result, after meeting up the prostitutes and their clients leave the zone to seek more secluded areas, mostly within the residential streets of Holbeck. Many punters don’t bother going to the zone at all, they cruise the residential streets instead, approaching women and children to ask if sex is available. Residents report observing acts of indecency and drug taking happening in streets, alleyways, their gardens, doorways, open spaces and
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within parked cars outside houses. Sex acts and drug taking have become the norm not just in hours of darkness. Across local social media groups comments about street prostitution gathered pace. Stories and experiences shared: a sense that migration of the sex trade was increasingly a threat to the welfare and safety of the community. It was then ‘Save Our Eyes’ was established as a private community Facebook group. The SOE group gave residents the chance to report anonymously without fear of reprisals and offer support and advice to each other. Some residents had already been threatened by pimps and prostitutes, even receiving death threats, so the group became a safe space for
and propositioning female residents and school girls. Save Our Eyes (SOE) formed a committee and members reached out to the council and police to make them aware of the changing situation and to gain an understanding of the Managed Approach to Prostitution (MA) and how it had been allowed to run out of control. Meetings held with charities that look after prostituted women confirmed deepening drug addiction trends and an increase in the demand from sex-buyers. SOE collected data and evidence to give the neighbourhood policing team accurate resident’s insight into issues. They collated maps of sex and drug litter to help clean up the area and sent Freedom Of
residents to speak up about what was really happening to them. Members and their experiences flooded in, it was affecting people of all ages right across the area. From young families keeping children safe to pensioners afraid to go to the shops, school girls kerb crawled, prostitutes midnight screaming waking sleeping streets, drug gangs smashing up rival crack dens, parents shielding kids from dangerous litter on the school run and pedestrians pulling drugged women out of moving traffic in the daytime. This was an increasingly dangerous and distressing escalation for so many residents. Children played out during school holidays, finding discarded condoms and needles strewn at the roadsides. Male residents were approached and offered sex outside their houses, punters searching for prostitutes cruising, loitering
Information requests to establish the truth about governance of the MA. For Police and Council, a crowded and impassioned residents meeting held at St Matthew’s Community Centre in October 2017 left them in no doubt that the residents were suffering as the sex-trade overshadowed their lives. Soon afterwards, the Community Reference Group was established, bringing together local leaders from schools, churches, businesses, charities and Save Our Eyes. Monthly meetings started and representatives attended the Managed Approach Operational Group meetings at the council where all services involved could hear directly from community members and refine their duties to help. This interaction in 2018 saw the introduction of a dedicated phone line for community reporting, MA police team to
work with the Sex-Work Liaison officer to try to keep the sex trade functioning within the rules of the MA and a dedicated cleansing team who the residents could report to for immediate clean-ups of sex and drug waste. The cleansing team became so fast at their reaction times that the community presented them with a trophy and chocolates to say thank you for doing a fantastic job. Unfortunately, summer 2018 again saw an increase in public street prostitution and violence caused by the pimps and drug dealers controlling the women, which peaked when a vicious knife fight spilled onto a residential street. Blood covered prostitutes and pimps battled in view of children on their school holidays, a horrifying sight. In reaction to this, residents started a series of public protests, holding placards along the roadways so commuters could understand their plight and try to get the decision makers to react. They also protested outside one of Leeds Central MP, Hillary Benn’s surgeries and made a heartfelt plea for him to do something to help. In 2019 the Community Reference Group became ‘Voice of Holbeck’ and embarked upon a ‘Listening Well Project’ to hear resident’s stories and work with Leeds Beckett University to collate them into a document that could be a standalone record of community experiences living with street prostitution. The Listening Well project ran simultaneously to the Independent Review sponsored by Leeds City Council into the MA being done by Huddersfield University, but both have very different conclusions. It is worthy of note that in England, Wales & Scotland soliciting (offering sexual favours for money) in a public place, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel are against the law. Also any sex acts taking place in public places is illegal and incurs prosecution.
By Bill Birch number of research studies have found that various kinds of theft are committed by heroin and crack cocaine addicts to pay for their drugs. It has been suggested in studies that up to half the people committing crimes like burglary & shoplifting are doing it to fund illegal drug use. Examples of users needing £15,000 to £30,000 a year to fund drug habits have often been given. To make such amounts of money from stolen goods, police often suggest multiplying by three – on the basis that stolen goods will only fetch about one third of their normal value. There are estimates of around 300,000 heroin/ crack users in England, with around 200,000 of them in treatment in any one year. That is a lot of theft, burglary, fraud or shoplifting if all are stealing to pay for things. This has led some people to suggest that up to half of all “stealing” crime is drug-related and that the market value of goods stolen could exceed £2 billion each year. Drug Use and street prostitution Pimps often use drugs to exert control over prostitutes. Many pimps are also drug dealers who attract and lure women with free drugs, pretending to be in a relationship with them. This is a form of grooming. Pimps intend getting the women addicted to drugs to trap them in lives of slavery and bind them to their owner who is often described as a “boyfriend.” This is the model of pimping usually used in Leeds Managed Approach. The pimps usually target teenagers who are at increased risk of addiction, eg who already have emotional problems, poor family support, come from dysfunctional families or are leaving the care system. Some already have a drug addiction problem. Once addicted, they will continue seeking drugs from the pimp, who will then inform the girl that he cannot continue
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Jenni’s story “Jenni” helped Save Our Eyes understand her personal link between drug use and crime. She became addicted to heroin after experiencing mental health problems, her husband also became addicted. They shoplifted to get money for drugs but it was difficult and time consuming. Items stolen had to be sold. The shops would identify and ban them so they couldn’t even get in. Jenni explained that shoplifting wasn’t sustainable in the longer term. One day, when they had no money for drugs, a friend suggested she
financing their addiction without compensation. She is encouraged to play her part in supporting the “couple” and moves into shoplifting, prostitution or begging. Once she has been left with no choice but to sell sex to support her addiction, the “boyfriend” moves on to another woman whilst still supplying her drugs. In this way, a pimp secures himself a small network of female addicts, building them up and milking them for cash on a daily basis. According to Joanna Project, a Leeds based charity working with street prostitutes, the average duration of life spent in street prostitution is 9 years. This means a huge amount of suffering for the women involved along with a huge amount of profit for the men who control them. A study conducted by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse in the UK, has suggested that 95% of women involved with street prostitution in the UK are heroin and/or crack cocaine users. This high proportion is in line with that observed locally in Holbeck. So what is the solution? It is clear that the illegal drug trade is at the root of a high percentage of both stealing and street prostitution. Whilst some advocate the decriminalisation of drug use, that inevitably would lead to the proliferation of even more drug use. One way would be to undermine the profitability of this trade. In Denmark they have come up with the solution of safe “shooting rooms” where addicts are prescribed drugs under medical supervision and use them without fear of arrest. If those addicted to hard drugs can access them free in a safe environment this would break the chain of drug pushers intent on getting vulnerable people addicted, as there would be no profit in it. The “shooting rooms” also mean that thieves no longer need to rob others for drug money so the addicts are less likely to be involved in crime.
work in Holbeck managed approach, so she decided to go earn the money they needed: just for one night. That one night became a year as Jenni ended up working 7 nights a week. As her income was no longer limited to the meagre pickings from shoplifting, the couple’s drug addiction ballooned out of control, trapping her in the managed approach.
Supplement paid for and published by Voice of Holbeck. Co
The Holbeck Voice | March 2021
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The Grumpy Old Man Varied responses to of South Leeds Listening Well report
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n November the Listening Well Report was circulated amongst all 99 Leeds Councillors in an attempt to enable all of them to have an informed debate on the Managed Approach. Responses to sending out this Report varied.
Councillor Sarah Field, Garforth & Swillington Independents:
“The so called “managed approach” to prostitution was introduced in a desperately shortsighted bid to protect prostituted women. Here we are almost seven years later and 16 women in street prostitution in Holbeck have died. Millions has now been spent, mostly on police salaries and clearing the streets of detritus caused by the demand of men who will pay desperate, addicted women to rape them. Leeds City Council pays lip service to “exit strategies”. But it seems that the exit for women is death. Shame on every single Leeds councillor who continually votes for this scourge on women and encourages the infestation of sex tourists in our city.
Councillor Colin Campbell, Liberal Democrat Otley & Yeadon ward:
“It is interesting to hear resident’s views and confirms a view I have had for some time that the "Managed Approach" is not the appropriate way of dealing with this issue.”
Councillor Gohar Almass, Labour Beeston & Holbeck
“We as local councillors always want to hear the voice of residents, whatever they are saying , and as such , we have supported the Listening Well Campaign and the process, with at least one of us attending every single event, if not all three of us. We will review the report carefully and consider its findings.”
Paul Money QPM, Chief Officer, Safer Leeds: “I don’t believe it!” Illustration of carelessness: In Holbeck the Managed Zone was approved and opened in 2014. A designated area for on street prostitution. Situated in the centre of this zone is a Bail Hostel. Hostels are a type of Open Prison, used as an alternative to full prison, they generally have a curfew from 2300 to 0700. There is 24 hour staff cover, and enforced house rules. Breaking the rules results in warnings, or a breach (of bail, which generally means prison for a week.) They are used as a resettlement aid for prisoners who are nearing the end of their sentences. Inmates include sex offenders and men involved in violence against women. One wonders if anyone within Safer Leeds gave any consideration to the potential horrors that placing vulnerable
women on these streets alongside such a Hostel could bring. 'Exceptionally dangerous': Donald Sheridan carried out sex attack weeks after convincing the parole board he was not dangerous. Sheridan carried out his latest attack after being released from prison and being housed in a probation hostel in Holbeck. Sheridan targeted a woman on 2 June 2019 as she walked home from the gym near to a disused railway bridge. The mum-of-two told Sheridan that she had children and said to him: "Don't kill me." The woman described how Sheridan smelt strongly of alcohol and forced her to kiss him. He told the woman to perform a sex act on him but the attack ended when he was disturbed by people walking dogs nearby. Sheridan had spent the day
drinking rum and had been in an altercation with a sex worker earlier in the day. On the day of the attack he had left his hostel in possession of a large amount of money in his wallet and spent the day drinking rum. He approached a sex worker in the street and went with her to a commercial yard on Shafton Street, in Holbeck, after agreeing a price for sex. Sheridan became suspicious when the woman made a mobile phone call to others after she saw he was carrying a lot of cash. A group of men then arrived at the scene and robbed him of his money. At a scheduled Voice of Holbeck meeting members had been assured by a senior leader that the attack had no relevance to the managed approach. It was only on seeing news coverage when the offender was caught that they discovered the link.
Staff at Leeds Beckett University (Dr Louise Warwick-Booth and Susan Coan) were commissioned to analyse existing data already collected by the Voice of Holbeck as part of the ‘Listening Well’ work undertaken by community members, seeking to document local experiences of the Managed Area in Holbeck. Speaking to a large amount of people in community meetings, the Voice of Holbeck produced a credible and valid piece of community-based research. With support from the independent researchers who analysed all of the data from the Listening Well events, and community surveys, a co-produced report has been developed. The report shows that local residents are keen to request changes to make their community safer and a more positive place to live.
ontact: 07505 157259 or Email: voiceholbeck@gmail.com
“In discussions with all my colleagues I state we are very disappointed in how the ‘Listening Well’ agenda has been handled by Voice of Holbeck including the developments of this last week. The recent developments I allude to (releasing the report to all councillors involved in the Managed approach debate) have unfortunately led to an undeniable and significant breach of trust. Therefore we can no longer engage with the group.”
Councillor Debra Coupar, Executive Member for Communities:
“I would like to thank Voice of Holbeck and local residents for their involvement with us. Our efforts are now to be focused on connecting with as broad a range of local people as possible so they can be kept informed about our work and their ideas can be considered and taken forward where it is appropriate to do so.”
Hilary Benn MP, Leeds Central
“First of all, can I say thank you everyone who was involved in the Listening Well process and in the writing up of what is a very iimportant report. “As you know, I originally proposed the idea of an independent review because I thought it was time to enable everyone to express a view about whether the managed approach is working or not. I read the review report and it contains a lot of interesting information, but I must confess that the thing I found most frustrating about it was the apparently very low level of responses to the consultation the review team undertook. Since one of the principal aims of the review was to allow people to have their say, I really don’t understand why this happened. “Secondly, I have always thought that the managed approach would only gain public consent if it is actually managed. There has been a rather hit and miss approach to this although the dedicated police team and the cleansing service have been the result of public pressure to which the Council and the police have responded. As your report makes clear, street sex work is happening outside of the managed area which means that the rules are not being observed by some. “Thirdly, some of the powerful testimony in your report is about general concerns to do with safety, criminality and anti-social behaviour in Holbeck. “Fourthly, I think we need a change in approach with a much greater focus now on trying to stop the men from coming into Holbeck and more support for the women to exit onstreet sex work which is, after all, no life. I welcome the steps that have already been taken to target the men. “Ultimately, a fundamental problem remains - namely that on street sex work was in Holbeck before the managed approach began and I suspect will still be a problem in Holbeck if it is announced tomorrow that the managed approach has ended. Previous experience has demonstrated that the Police cannot end on-street sex work by enforcement and therefore the question remains what is the best thing to do in the circumstances?”
Wayne Dixon, SDP candidate for Middleton Park ward
“I've lived in the area for 38 years. Being involved in local politics and community work means I talk to a lot of people and hear what's affecting their lives day to day. Since the managed approach started a few years ago we've seen street prostitution and public sex moving into Beeston, and now even the Middleton area. The “managed zone” is supposed to be just for prostitutes and punters to meet each other... then the man will usually drive the woman to a quiet area nearby. The Middleton community is being targeted so we are getting areas of the Park where used condoms are found. One lad even saw a couple having sex in a car during the afternoon. Leeds City Council needs to stop this zone spreading across other areas. The residents of Holbeck don't want the sex industry running wild and we don't want it here in our constituency either!”
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The Holbeck Voice | March 2021
The Council’s ‘Independent Review’
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he turbulent summer of 2018 saw the Holbeck community under siege to street prostitution and knife violence. Resident campaigning and demonstrations led to a council debate about the Managed Approach(MA) that October, which brought about the call for an Independent Review (IR). After an 8 month tender process the team from Huddersfield University Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences were chosen to undertake the IR from a field of 4 applicants. The summer months are always the worst for street prostitution, with light nights and warm weather. Residents were keen for the Independent Review to get straight to work,
but weeks passed as Leeds Council refined the IR brief. A year passed before the IR TEAM engaged with the community through inviting small focus groups to attend events in mixed groups including service and professional agencies and a few residents. Many from the community felt that they had not been given a fair chance to engage with the IR Team face to face or considered as equal partners in the review. Another approach to community engagement was by posting an invitation to every home in Holbeck. This invitation to complete an online survey requesting them to log in to an online portal about the impact of street
prostitution on their lives. Barriers to this approach were and are recognised as: • Most residents are not computer savvy. • Ownership of high tech equipment low. • Many not highly literate. • Proportion of the community are foreign speaking local who don’t read or write English well. • Timing of engagement (Christmas). • Problems with delivery of the invitations. The IR Team then offered to any residents the opportunity to attend a drop-in session at the Holbeck Club as an additional venue to complete the survey. Businesses that regularly have problems with street prostitution were never
Holbeck Street Angels
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n May 2019 a small group of Holbeck residents got together to discuss what they could do about the problems that the Managed Approach was causing to local residents. The prevalence of street prostitution in residential Holbeck is mainly around Kasa and St Matthews Church area. The prostitutes stand on the
pavements or go into the middle of the road to wave down passing cars. The Angels decided that each evening they would stand in that area for a few hours and have a walk around. Not only have they been of great assistance to the police by continuously reporting incidents on the dedicated phone line but on average
once a month they have been approached by the prostituted women themselves asking for help and they have given them help where possible. Residents have been hugely appreciative of the tireless work of the Angels who go out every night no matter what the weather. Residents now feel safer going to the local shops in the evening.
An alternate approach
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riefly the law at present in the UK states that it is illegal : 1. For more than one woman to work in a house/any premises as a prostitute 2. To solicit on the streets for business. (2 warnings are given before prosecution) 3. To kerb crawl i.e be a punter looking for a prostitute. 4. To be a trafficker or a pimp of a prostituted woman In 2014 Safer Leeds of Leeds City Council decided to turn a blind eye to soliciting and kerb crawling as long as it was in
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the zone calling this decision the Managed Approach. Due to the high numbers of people operating in the zone now, it cannot just be closed down. An alternate approach would have to be put in its place. In June 2018 a meeting called Searching for the Leeds Model was held where people of varying experiences spoke of suggested alternatives. One speaker was Alan Caton OBE from Ipswich. In 2006 in Ipswich , Alan Caton, who at the time was a Detective Superintendent
with the help of a charity for drug addictions, decided to adopt a different approach in Ipswich which was loosely based on the Nordic Model which criminalises men who pay for sex. The women in prostitution are given financial help, counselling and safe places where they can escape from pimps and rehabilitate. They were successful in their approach and we have heard of some heartwarming stories about the women who exited and got back into a normal life and got their children back out of care.
approached for their opinions and of the 50 businesses within the MA zone only 2 answered an email from the IR team. Considering 1940 households received an invitation to take part and an individual electronic link to do so, the 120 respondents only represented 6% of Holbeck households and so the findings cannot be taken as representative of the people of
Holbeck. Fortunately, the Voice of Holbeck Group had been holding their Listening Well meetings with the community during 2019/20 to gather resident’s experiences of living with street prostitution. In total, 500 accounts from the public, businesses, schools, charities and churches were collected and written up in the significant Listening Well Report.
“Predatory, unconvicted sex offenders prowl the streets looking for women to abuse.”
I How I exited prostitution
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nce trapped by my drug addiction I endured prostitution for 4 years. I’d often try to give up drugs then relapse a couple of weeks later. Cycles need to be broken to help women escape. I’ve realised that women whose lives are embedded in prostitution need residential care in order to completely break away from their dealers, boyfriends and drug habit. I run a small charity called “Natasha Wyer - retrieving what was stolen.” I’m opening a rehab facility for women who want to get help and change their lives once and for all. One of the biggest misunderstandings is that a “compassionate” approach is to help the women “work safely” during the years they choose to work in prostitution. I have never met a woman who wants to “work” as a street prostitute. It’s a lifestyle that women have been forced into by life circumstances like prior sexual abuse, drug addiction, poverty and mental health problems. They are mothers, daughters… women who deserve to be free to live their lives. The legacy of our current ineffective methods is massive trauma for the women; some remain in prostitution for just a few years but many sacrifice the best years of their lives to a master than only ever harms them. The physical & mental torture they endure leaves them with PTSD and other mental health problems.
There’s no quick fix. Street prostitution has become normalised in Holbeck; the effects on the community have been normalised. My heart goes out to the residents… it’s awful to see the used condoms, needles and the poor women staggering around. I can only apologise for what is happening to you. Please continue to be compassionate. Women trapped in prostitution can change with the right help. The punters need help themselves. I don’t understand why they prey on the most vulnerable women in Leeds. Some of them have such abnormal sexual needs that they can only be satisfied by street prostitutes who are desperate for the drug money. Most of the men have families, wives and decent paying jobs. They fear being exposed: they are ashamed of their behaviour which they know is not normal. We need to find a new way of dealing with the problems that prostitution causes in the women’s lives but we also need a new way of dealing with the men who consume them. The risks the men pose to other women and children in Holbeck is unacceptable. Action needs taking against kerb crawlers to deter their entitled behaviour. I want to see a safer, happier, Holbeck and I hope changes can be made very soon to improve life for all.
was employed by West Yorkshire Probation Service, for just short of twenty years. I specialised as a sexual offender Probation Officer and worked in HMP Leeds on the Vulnerable Prisoner Unit, with many sexual offenders that were housed there for their own protection. I am considered an expert in the field of male sexual offending and male sexual offenders. I have studied the Managed Approach and how this has impacted the lives of the local residents in Holbeck, as well as the prostituted women and girls. Last year, I spent three weeks studying the men who go to Holbeck to seek out and pay for sex from these girls and women. Most of them appear to be “normal”, married, family men. I know this because many of them had child seats in the rear of their nice vehicles. These are definitely NOT sad and lonely men. They are considered “successful” in life and their cars reflect this. My professional opinion is that they are all predatory, unconvicted sexual offenders, who deliberately seek out destitute teenage, trafficked and drug-addicted women to sexually abuse, torture and rape them. The money that they pay these women is also “hush money”, to stop them being reported for violent sexual acts that they can't perform on their wives and girlfriends for fear of imprisonment. The men that go to Holbeck to buy sexual abuse, from these vulnerable teenage girls and women are the lowest of the low, very often sadists and who hate women. They should ALL be behind bars for what they do to them. Read more about Belstaffie’s investigation into the managed approach here: https://uncommonground media.com/ holbeck-managed-approach-drowning-notswimming/
Supplement paid for and published by Voice of Holbeck. Contact: 07505 157259 or Email: voiceholbeck@gmail.com
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News 11
Get into gardening by Beeston In Bloom
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ver the past year when everyone has been spending more time at home people have shown a lot more interest in gardening. Many are put off as they don’t know where to start, think it’s too complicated and that you need a lot of expensive tools. So we are here to help. TOOLS REQUIRED As you are never sure what you are handling it is recommended that you always
March 2021 | South Leeds Life
wear gloves. If you start small, planting in containers, window boxes etc. you don’t actually need many tools. A trowel, a sharp pair of scissors and a pair of secateurs is all you need. Once you start digging in the soil you will need a spade and garden fork. Not too heavy that you can’t lift it, but not too flimsy that it bends when the going gets tough. When choosing pots try to buy the biggest one you can as it won’t dry out so quickly and can hold a greater variety of
Essential: Gloves, secateurs and a trowel
plants. BASIC TERM FOR PLANTS Don’t be put off by fancy latin names for plants and other terms used by gardeners. Here are some simple examples to remember:• Annual – this is a plant that lives for only one season. • Perennial – a plant that lasts one season, dies, but comes back the following year. • Evergreen – a plant that doesn’t shed its leaves and is green all year round. • Hardy – these are plants that will put up with the cold weather. LOW MAINTENANCE GARDEN When you are looking at plants in a supermarket or garden centre you should always look at the label. It will give you guidance on how to look after it – where to plant it (e.g. sun or shade), how big it will grow (height and width), how to prune it or not. When you start it might be best to start planting in pots as they can be moved around the garden until you find the best spot. • Plants like pansies or
petunias are great for containers and window boxes. They give instant colour and apart from watering and cutting off the dead flowers, take little maintenance. But as they are annuals will only last one season. • Bulbs are another low maintenance plant. Follow the instruction on the packet and sit back and wait for them to appear. They should come back year after year. • Tomatoes are easy to grow from seed and there are a wide variety available. Or you can clean and dry seeds from a shop bought tomatoes and grow from them. • There are also a wide variety of salad leaves available from garden centres or online, with easy to follow growing instructions on the packets. These can be grown in pots/containers or in the ground. • If you are looking for a combination of annuals, perennials, bulbs and evergreens you could look at the millennium garden in Cross Flatts Park that is maintained by Beeston in Bloom. Once the weather gets a little warmer they will be around on a Wednesday morning 10am-
12pm and will be happy to answer any questions you might have. Or alternatively you could email them on beestoninbloom@gmail.com PLANTS BEST TO GET CHILDREN INTERESTED As part of the lockdown last year Beeston in Bloom helped to distribute packs of seeds as an activity for children who were at home from school. Posts on Facebook showed this was a great success and if you take pictures with your child at the side of the plant as it grows the photos make a good memory. • Easiest to grow is probably cress, so easy to do you can even grow it in an egg shell, paint a face on the shell and the cress will grow to look like hair, only it will be edible. • Sunflowers are another easy to plant to grow, just need seeds, compost, a small pot to start with and a larger one as the plant grows or transfer to the garden if available. ALLOTMENTS An allotment is a plot of land you rent, usually to grow your own food. There are a number of allotments
in the Beeston area – Old Lane, Lady Pit Lane and Clarkesfield. As you can imagine there is currently great demand for plots, but you can register your interest on the Leeds CC website. You must remember that it does require a lot of work to keep up to and should only be considered if you are prepared to put in the effort. However, if you do take on a plot it’s good to know that other allotment users are often willing to share their knowledge.
Garden spade and fork
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12 Comment
In our view The Cladding Crisis For the party of home ownership, the Conservatives aren’t handling the cladding crisis very well at all. As the home owners we spoke to explain, they are trying to get away with the least they can spend, that’s why they are only talking about cladding when the issue covers a host of fire safety issues. The problem goes back over decades, but it’s rooted in the idea that there is too much ‘red tape’ which must be done away with. But why would you want to get rid of safety regulations? Unless it was to increase your profit margin. It’s very noticeable that Council and housing association blocks are much less affected - probably because they were built properly in the first place.
Themes and variations There are a number of themes that recur throughout this month’s paper. Residents not being listened to; whether it’s the Cladding Crisis, the Managed Approach in Holbeck, or cutting the trees on the riverbank (what is it about authorities cutting down trees?). Then there’s loss and loneliness and how to cope - two suggested strategies are exercise and volunteering - which will also help you find employment. As we go to press the Prime Minister is about to announce how lockdown will be eased. Any return to, or towards, normality is to be welcomed. But don’t forget many of these issues existed before the pandemic and will continue to exist afterwards.
A return on volunteering It was very interesting listening to the volunteers’ stories at the Slung Low foodbank in Holbeck. Of course many of them were motivated by social solidarity, but they they all got something back in return. The carer who got some ‘me time’; the retired folk who had something to put in their diary each week; the meeting and chatting with real people rather than screens. If you’re not volunteering somewhere you’re missing out!
South Leeds
Laughs “I had a job drilling holes for water – it was well boring.” If you've got a great joke you want to share (max 200 words), email it to us at info@southleedslife.com by the 15th of each month, with your name and address, and the best one each month will win a £5 prize.
Your letters and comments Transport Strategy A number of correspondants recently have raised the issue that cyclists do not pay ‘Road Tax’ or have insurance. Can I just point out roads are paid for out of general taxation. So motorists, cyclists and pedestrians all pay for the roads through Income Tax, VAT, etc. Motorists do pay Vehicle Excise Duty (Road Tax was abolished in 1937) that is based on the pollution their vehicle produces. As cyclists do not produce pollution, they don’t have to pay it. As for insurance, many cyclists do have insurance, including third party. But equally many motorists drive without insurance despite it being illegal. Sue Talbot I feel we’re missing a trick by not considering overhead light rail, as is the case across Asia. Bangkok for example has an extremely efficient, clean, timely service that is a tourist activity in its own right. Sydney blurs the lines of overhead/underground with double decker light rail that is unparalleled. Even the Parisian underground is reliable and effective. Imagine boarding a sky train at Leeds City Station, and cruising without hindrance all the way to Headingley, before it heads out towards Otley and Ilkley, whilst another line links to Bradford and Shipley, as part of a wider West Yorkshire “White Rose” sky train. No need for converting road space into cycle lanes, as the sky line would have an adjacent path for cyclists and pedestrians. Trams and buses can get stuck in traffic, but a sky train can’t. Express services could shuttle people to the airport in record time. It’d be a fraction the cost of an underground, and a similar price to digging up half the roads in the city to shove rails into roads that aren’t big enough. I think that our existing Leeds infrastructure, street widths, and congestion would make a tram or bus based solution destined to fail. An elevated light rail could have a walking and cycling “super highway” built in the sky alongside the light rail track, allowing people to travel across the city with ease, without congestion or disturbance from flooding for example. It’s future proof, unlike the options presented. I’m baffled why it’s not been considered. I’m glad we’re finally looking into a mass transit system, but like with HS2, we must ensure we aren’t using outdated technology on crumbling infrastructure. Robert
Skelton Grange Road bridge I use this route on my pleasure rides from Leeds to Wakefield, and I find it to be more of a challenge when it comes to the bridge. I was once younger where I would just pick up my bike and carry it, but now just like everyone else age isn’t on my side. So it would be great to have easy access all the way through. And I hope that one day, if not for me, but all other generations this can be made possible. Darren
Light rail runs on bridges at high speed in Chongqing, China. Photo: Shutterstock my brothers, Andy, Glenn and myself. What a teacher - firm but fair I would say, you didn’t stand for any messing around, such a kind and caring man. I loved coming to school everyday. I remember the apparatus that was tied back to the wall in the hall, and the maypole dancing was the best, I once got into trouble for climbing on them during a lunch time. Leeds kids are lucky to have you, even us older ones, well done. Joanne Nixon Me and my five brothers and my sister were very well known. Not just because we were a large family but we were Muslim Pakistanis attending a Christian school. Mr Whitehouse made us all feel welcomed, what a great headteacher. Kosar Mr Whitehouse was my teacher in 198182. I remember him been a warm and funny man, the only downside was he supported Sunderland! I met him many years later in my work role when he was head teacher, he was still getting involved with the kids and as funny as ever. The school and community of South Leeds are lucky to have you, thanks for everything you do for the kids. Tracy Speight (nee Logan)
Holbeck Cemetery We are two pensioners who have lived in the Beeston area all our lives and we must congratulate the ladies on their wonderful display of poppies in the Holbeck cemetery. We are both knitters so knowthe hard work that has gone into the display. We recently walked round the cemetery to look at the poppies, some of our ancestors’ stones and all the well known people of Beeston who are buried there. We were appalled and ashamed as the only way we can descibe the whole cemetery as looking like a bomb site. It is heartbreaking for us to see all these memorial stones flattened, surely the Council could remove the broken ones and tidy the graves as they have done in other cemeteries all around Leeds. Is this too much to ask for Beeston? Anon
Eric Whitehouse
Re-uniting a Victorian drawing book
Mr Whitehouse congratulations on your 40 years service. You taught both me and
My name is David Smith and I live in Scotland. Whilst sorting out the belongings
of a deceased friend, who was living in London at the time of his death, I found a drawing book which had belonged to one Robert Taylor. Robert was a pupil at Middleton C of E School, aged 14 in 1898. Which Middleton? The book Robert was using had been produced by E J Arnold and son in Leeds and although, by 1898, EJ Arnold supplied books to many schools throughout England, I am hoping that the Middleton in question is the one in south Leeds. Taylor is not an uncommon name but it is reassuring that the name does occur in a number of school pictures of the fifties. The initials of Robert’s teacher would appear to be DI. It would be nice to pass this drawing book on to a body which could periodically display it if you cannot easily associate it with a particular Taylor family. David Smith
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Top Tweets Keep up to date, up to the minute, by following South Leeds Life’s Twitter feed: @SouthLeedsLife. Twitter is the 140 character ‘micro blogging’ site. It’s free and you can sign up at twitter.com. It’s a great place to find the very latest news. Here are some of our favourite recent tweets: @LeedsRecycles Do you know any young people who want to have a go at tackling the #ClimateEmergency? We've got an exciting new toolkit for young people that’s full of ideas and resources to make little changes that'll make a big difference: orlo.uk/PwaEB #LeedsByExample 👍 @wntrfriends Keeping active is important to help maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints & to help keep warm during colder months, especially for someone who struggles to get out. Visit winterfriends.org for simple exercise ideas that can be done at home, for any age and ability. @MartinDDean Glorious view of Elland Road while making my @SlungLow food bank deliveries today.
Foodbank volunteers Someone I know gets help from the food bank and is extremely grateful for all the help they receive and doorstep chats from the fantastic people who volunteer. Mike
Where does Hunslet start? Hunslet starts from the old Tetley’s building, not Church Street. Dave Very much agreed historically and indeed geographically, but most people living along that stretch very much consider themselves the city centre now. The whole topic of name and place is very difficult. Local people want the sign on Church Street or thereabouts. Cllr Paul Wray I know where you are coming from Dave. It’s like part of Holbeck wanting to be known as LS1.1 - snobby beggers. But trust me it’s Holbeck and it never will be anything else. Ian Pickup
Join the debate Comment online; by email: info@southleedslife.com; or post to: 224 Cross Flatts Grove, Leeds, LS11 7BW. Letters may be edited for publication.
@WYP_LeedsSouth Officers had reports of a quad bike driving anti sociably in Beeston on 18th Feb. Officers located the quad and it was seized due to no insurance and no proof of ownership. @SthLeedsLakers Tonight we have our first committee meeting with our cycling and walking sections. Covid has slowed down these new ventures, but along with our running and junior athletics sections South Leeds Lakers is building a fitness community for the whole of South Leeds. @BAS21_ART Middleton. @DigbyPaul. Paint on paper. The featureless open spaces of suburbia's communal sports fields offer big skies but small views.
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Comment 13
MP’s notebook by Hilary Benn MP
C
llr Judith Blake is stepping down as the Leader of Leeds City Council following her appointment to the House of Lords. I have had the privilege of working with Judith over many years in her roles both as a Middleton Ward councillor and as Council Leader and I just want to thank her - as I know many people will want to do for all of her service and commitment to the people of South Leeds and to our great city. Being an elected representative is not the easiest job in the world, but Judith has always represented the very best of public service. So, thank you Judith and all the best in your new role. Someone contacted me recently to draw my attention to a leaflet that had been posted through their door in Holbeck. It said, among other things,
‘there is no pandemic’, ‘take off your mask’ and ‘refuse the vaccine.’ Apart from being dangerous nonsense, this is such a terrible insult to all the NHS staff, volunteers and others who have been working so hard these last few weeks to make sure that as many people in Leeds as possible get vaccinated. They are true heroes. This type of fake news is, however, very serious because anyone who is persuaded not to have the vaccine because of it could be putting themselves and others at greater risk. And we also know that vaccine takeup is lower in some sections of our community – eg people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds – even though the evidence is that they are at greater risk of getting seriously ill with Covid. The reasons behind this are quite complex, but we must leave no stone unturned to ensure that every part of our
community get the vaccine so that all of us can be protected. I've now had my first jab and it was really uplifting to see the NHS at its best. The staff were welcoming, organised and jabbed away as if there was no tomorrow! A quarter of the population in Yorkshire have had their first dose and the vaccination centre at Elland Road is now up and running. The cladding crisis continues to cause great suffering to a lot of people in Leeds. Even though the Government announced additional help recently, this is only going to cover the removal of unsafe cladding and does nothing about other fire safety risks like flammable insulation, missing fire breaks and wooden balconies. Ministers are also proposing to treat leaseholders differently depending on the height of their building, with payment to cover the cost of removing only unsafe cladding on buildings
over 18 metres but loans forced on to leaseholders in blocks below that height to do the same. So, all leaseholders will still be left with huge costs they simply cannot afford. The Leeds Cladding Scandal group is continuing to campaign, along with all of the other leaseholder organisations up and down the country, for a fair outcome in which leaseholders do not have to pay to fix a problem they did not create. The cost should be met by those who did create the problem - namely the developers and builders. It’s great to see that the Middleton Railway is taking the opportunity of the lockdown to do some work at their museum, including installing a mezzanine floor to provide more exhibition space. We are all feeling the effects of being locked down, so when we can eventually get out and about do take the opportunity to see this remarkable piece of Leeds history which has been preserved thanks to the determination, passion and care of all those who work so hard at the Middleton Railway
Hilary Benn is our Member of Parliament. He represents the Leeds Central constituency which covers Hunslet, Middleton, Belle Isle, Beeston, Holbeck, Cottingley in south Leeds as well as the city centre, Hyde Park, Woodhouse, Little London, Lincoln Green, Burmantofts, Richmond Hill and Osmondthorpe Contact: hilary.benn.mp@parliament.uk, www.hilarybennmp.com Constituency office: Unity Business Centre, 26 Roundhay Road, Leeds LS7 1AB; Tel: 0113 244 1097
The fight against Covid extremely vigilant. This virus remains a mutating and foe. Hospital have followed the pandemic murderous very closely over the last admissions and infection rates year. Since last March four ae still too high. The Public Health advice members of my family have contracted Covid, one of whom remains the same. We all know died. So for me it’s highly it and we need to apply it. And please take up your personal. Worryingly, the infection rates vaccination when it is offered. It’s crucial we don’t squander in parts of the in South Leeds are among the highest in the the sacrifices we’ve made, or city. We still need to be the fantastic work of our front line services, especially the NHS and social care; or the brilliant Council funded Covid hubs (Hamara, Slung Low and Involve), foodbanks, charities, community groups and individual volunteers. Covid has obviously affected many more people than it has infected. People suffering from other conditions have had their treatment cancelled or postponed. Many have lost jobs, incomes and businesses. Education A Covid hub volunteer delivering food and mental health have suffered. Photo: Tomas Lukis
by Cllr Paul Truswell
I
March 2021 | South Leeds Life
It’s been a long haul. It is understandable that some people are losing trust, patience, and the willingness to comply with social distancing, mask wearing and staying home. Gaps in financial support means too many people are forced to choose between beating the virus and putting food on the table. South Leeds was already in an extremely vulnerable position before COVID arrived. Women’s life expectancy was falling; men’s had levelled out. Infant mortality rates were also causing concern. It’s no surprise that research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows the areas hit hardest are those with large numbers of part-time, low paid workers, BAME households, women in hard-hit sectors struggling with childcare, and private and social renters. Thankfully, the rollout of the vaccines is progressing well in Leeds. That’s because it’s locally driven by the public sector. That’s in huge contrast to the national, top-down failures of contracts doled out to private sector organisations
for key initiatives like Test and Trace, distribution of PPE, and provision of free school meals. When we emerged from the first lockdown we were promised a “world beating” Test, Track and Trace system to protect us from the spread of the virus. It has never delivered. By contrast the small amount of tracing delegated to Leeds has achieved a much higher rate of contact. Leeds has also led the way in terms of funding Covid hubs, decent free school meals and distributing PPE. Some people genuinely believed a balance could be struck between the virus and the economy. But Covid doesn’t do compromises. That approach condemned us to three lockdowns and 125,000 deaths so far. The UK has not only had one of the highest death rates in the world, but also one of the worst economic recoveries. Apparently, only Argentina out of the top 37 economies in the world has done worse. The countries that have most successfully re-opened their economies are the ones that have concentrated on suppressing the virus. The Government’s commitment to “data, not dates” is long overdue. Despite seeing what was happening in
Hilary Benn MP Trust. And finally, a lot of people have spent a lot of time at home in the last 12 months and one of the consequences is seeing things that need doing. My other half has been encouraging me to get on with decluttering on the basis that it's really unfair to leave throwing out rubbish to your children when you've gone, so we might as well get on with it now. I must confess that while I
understand the theory, as a self-confessed keeper of stuff I find the practice quite painful. However, as well as discovering things that you really can't think of any use for, we have also come across children’s books that were put away when ours grew up but are now going to make a newly-dusted reappearance for our grandchildren when we get to see them again. Now, are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.
France and Italy last February and March, we went into the first lockdown too late. Boris Johnson couldn’t bring himself to attend Covid emergency meetings. He joked about shaking hands with Covid victims. He allowed super spreader sports events to go ahead. He chuckled that we could defeat the virus by washing our hands while singing Happy Birthday. Studies have suggested the
March lockdown delay needlessly cost 20,000 people their lives. Patients discharged into care homes spread the disease there. Over 25,000 care home residents have now died. We owe it to ourselves and all those who have died or suffered as a result of Covid to continue doing the right thing. That way we can move forward, and not have to keep going back.
If you have to leave your home, please remember: HANDS – wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds or more FACE – wear a face covering in any indoor space except inside your home SPACE – Keep a 2 metre distance from others If you, or anyone in your household, has symptoms, self-isolate and book a free test by visiting www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or calling 199. If you are self-isolating and don’t have friends or family locally who can help or, if you cannot afford to pay for essential items such as food, gas and electric, call the Council’s Welfare Support Team on (0113) 376 0330. People on low incomes or certain benefits who have been told by the NHS to self-isolate may be entitled to £500. For further information visit www.leeds.gov.uk/selfisolationsupport or call 0113 376 0452.
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14 Comment
Councillors’ briefing T
he Council has agreed its Budget for 2021/22. The choices were tough. The Government told Councils to “do what it takes” to tackle the pandemic. It then refused to cover the cost of providing vital support to our communities and lost income. That betrayal doubled the cuts the Council was expecting to make. LCC gets its funding from Business Rates, Council Tax, charges for services, and central government grants. In 2010 for every £1 we all paid in
budgets, and maintained over 1,000 services. Some people question certain highways schemes, but fail to mention that the Government has tied its grants specifically to those projects. The choices LCC has made will rightly be debated. But these need to be honest discussions about real options. Leeds received national recognition for its handling of the school meals crisis. We are now successfully rolling out vaccinations. That’s because the process is led locally by the
still funds available, please get in touch if you have a project. A number of residents have been in touch this month due to missed bin collections, please report any issues here: via the council website and if it isn’t sorted, please continue to get in touch with us via the usual channels. It is worth noting that staffing issues due to the ongoing pandemic, as well as the snow, has made their job harder than usual! Finally, Cllr Gohar Almass and Cllr Andrew Scopes have
fly tipping increase across the nation. Crews are working hard to clear this, but the bigger fly tips are clearly from unregistered waste collectors who dump the waste rather than taking it to the tip. Always use a registered company, the Council’s service or donate unwanted items if you can. Find out more at: www.leeds.gov.uk /residents/bins-and-recycling /get-rid-of-unwanted-items • Resolving the cycle crossing issues at Skelton Grange Bridge (see page 5) is currently being worked on and several possible solutions are being assessed. Any solutions will be costly but as Councillors and a Council, we are committed to finding a solution. • The consultation for the proposed Welcome to Hunslet sign is open and can be found here: yourvoice.leeds.gov.uk/ welcome-to-hunslet/survey_ tools/welcome-to-hunslet • We are offering grants of up to £500 to support groups helping people access support but have a lack of IT or internet. You can find our more by emailing Lynda.Bambury@leeds.gov.uk • Following complaints about the Junction 1-7
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roadworks, Highways England have increased the number of trees they will be planting in the ward; have agreed to arrange an embankment wide litter pick near Hunslet Moor; and are closing off a drug use hotspot. Middleton Park Ward Update: As your Councillors, this month we have: • convening key organisations to take action on addressing high rates of Covid infection in the area; and providing further funding to organisations supporting local residents • setting up a community computer recycling scheme • assisting with the provision of computers to schools to enable home learning • continuing a multi-agency approach to dealing with antisocial behaviour, including examining potential locations for CCTV • developing a scheme of improvements for the Plantation and further consultation based on
residents' feedback • supporting local residents to have grit bins for their area • partnering local people and groups, including Leeds Urban Bike Park and Friends of Middleton Park, in expanding Middleton Park and bringing the former South Leeds Golf Clubhouse back into community use; securing the upgrade of the tennis and badminton courts • working with Hunslet Councillors on the safe rerouting of the public right of way through the M621 underpass and provision of lighting to improve safety
Your Leeds City Councillors Beeston & Holbeck ward Includes Beeston from Cross Flatts Park to the Ring Road, Cottingley and Holbeck. The three councillors are:
Cllrs Almass, Gabriel and Scopes with Elissa Newman (second left) Chief Officer at Holbeck Together council tax the council received about £2 in government grant, we now receive about 50p in support, a reduction of over £250 million every year from the government, so our council tax has to stretch further. Since 2010 the government has cut its funding to Leeds by over £2 billion. This year it is forcing Councils to offset its cuts by increasing Council Tax by 5%. Despite this, we’ve kept Sure Start centres open, protected Children’s and Social Care
public sector. It’s a far cry from the abject failures of national, top down, private sector contracts such as Test and Trace, PPE provision and free school meals. Beeston and Holbeck Ward Update: This month we are pleased to have used a Covid discretionary grant to support Holbeck Together, providing £2,500 for additional provision of meals and to support mental health and wellbeing by providing activities. There are
always voted in person, as it is something they enjoy doing, but they are registering for a postal vote this year to help reduce the queues on election day. It is easy to vote by post, we encourage you to do the same. Hunslet and Riverside Update: It has been a busy month with casework volumes still around double their prepandemic levels. Here as some things we would like to highlight. • The pandemic has seen
Gohar Almass 07445 878 333 gohar.almass@leeds.gov.uk Angela Gabriel 07946 632 468 angela.gabriel@leeds.gov.uk Andrew Scopes 07860 400 645 andrew.scopes@leeds.gov.uk
Hunslet & Riverside ward Includes the city centre, Beeston Hill and Hunslet. The three councillors are:
Mohammed Iqbal 0113 226 8796 mohammed.iqbal@leeds.gov.uk Elizabeth Nash 0113 275 8594 elizabeth.nash@leeds.gov.uk Paul Wray 07528 512 649 paul.wray@leeds.gov.uk
Middleton Park ward Includes Belle Isle and Middleton. The three councillors are: Judith Blake Kim Groves Paul Truswell
0113 378 9000 judith.blake@leeds.gov.uk 07891 741 832 kim.groves@leeds.gov.uk 0113 378 8811 paul.truswell@leeds.gov.uk
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Historical Life 15
To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, we present the stories of two inspirational women with links to South Leeds
Ann Jane Carlile A forgotten female pioneer of the Temperance Movement by Ken Burton
A
nn Jane Carlile was born Ann Jane Hamil in Rooksey, County Monaghan on 8 April 1775, she was the youngest child of farmer and wine merchant David Hamil and Martha Hamil (nee Armstrong). The Hamil family originated in France, and as Huguenot refugees they settled in Ulster where they joined the Presbyterian Church. Her father and brother, John, had connections with the Society of United Irishmen. There is some evidence that in her teens Ann Jane met a local man of her own age and wanted to marry him but older members of both families felt that the teenagers were too young and impetuous to be a suitable couple. In 1800 Ann married the Rev Francis Carlile, he became the Presbyterian Minister for Balieborough and Corran in County Cavan. The couple had one son and six daughters, three of the daughters dying within three years. There was only a slender income for the manse, and for themselves and the children, but Ann Jane was an industrious woman and also businesslike and opened a drapers shop in Balieborough near their home to supplement the family income. On 1 February 1811 Francis died after a short illness, aged 39. Ann closed her business and moved the family to Derry where they lived for the next 15 years, financially independent living on income from property that had belonged to her husband. In 1826 the family moved to Dublin, it was here that her son died while climbing the Powers Court Waterfall. It was after this tragic accident that Ann Jane began to involve herself in public service. Her son’s share of her will went to support a missionary teacher in India for 30 years, she then became a prison
visitor as a member of the Female Gaol Committee and in 1827 she accompanied Elizabeth Fry on her factfinding mission in Dublin, as well as supporting Fry in her campaign against transportation. From her visits she realised just how many inmates were there because of alcohol abuse, this led Ann Jane to become involved in Temperance work although at this stage she had not taken the Pledge.
In 1830 she opened the Mariners Total Abstinence Temperance Society in Poolbeg Street, Dublin, this was an area much frequented by sailors, exconvicts and prostitutes. In 1834 while staying with her sister at Cootehill, County Cavan, she set up a Temperance Society. Some years later she was to meet the most wretched women in New Grange Prison, Dublin, who were all there due to their habit
of drinking whiskey. She invited them to attend a Temperance meeting in Poolbeg Street on their release and one replied "True for you ma'am the whiskey brought us here, you can afford to drink your wine but we cannot". It was just after this that Ann Jane signed the Teetotal Pledge. Ann Jane travelled all over the United Kingdom promoting Temperance Societies, her first visit to Scotland in 1840 led her to visit Edinburgh Prison where some inmates had been sentenced to transportation and her success in persuading some of them to take the pledge reached the ears of a Glasgow clergyman who broke his own rule about not allowing women into the pulpit by inviting Ann Jane into it to speak. In this period she came in contact with Father Theobold Matthew the celebrated Irish Temperance campaigner and travelled to London to speak in support of his 1843-45 campaign. Far more of a speaker than a writer she nevertheless did produce three, fourpage pamphlets based on real life situations: The Reformed Family of Ballymena; John Miller, the Reformed Sailor, widely used by Temperance activists; and Little Mary or a Daughter's Love, this provides an account by a child of an alcoholic mother, this child was brought up for some time by Ann Jane and her daughters. In the summer of 1841 on her first visit to Belfast she founded the Victorian Temperance Society, this was an organisation for women but the Honorary Secretary was a man, Alexander Mayne, as no suitably qualified woman could be found; she was also influential in the closure of one of the most notorious public houses in the city in 1854. She was also involved in the reclamation of prostitutes in Belfast, Ballymena, and Dublin where she was also co-founder of Dublin's earliest Asylums for prostitutes.
Mary Gawthorpe South Leeds Suffragette until she was knocked clean out by a projectile hard-boiled egg! Sylvia Pankhurst praised Miss Gawthorpe for her “plucky spirit” and the incident made her the heroine of the election. In October 1909 she heckled Winston Churchill leading her to being imprisoned and badly beaten – she received “grave
ary Gawthorpe was born in 1881 in Woodhouse, Leeds, to John and Annie Gawthorpe. Her Dad was a leather worker and her Mum helped to support the family by being a laundress and textile worker. Mary herself was a pupil-teacher from the age of 13 in a Bramley school and so was no stranger to hard work. Her mother had wanted her daughter to attend college but the family finances made that impossible, so Mary taught during the day and studied at night. She became a qualified teacher shortly before her 21st birthday. She was an active member of Leeds Art Club and it was here that she looked into ideas on truth and equality. The club actively encouraged women to get involved with debating and Mary Mary Gawthorpe in 1908 is quoted as saying that “it internal injuries”. Despite brought a new art reality into bringing a charge of assault, it was dismissed in court. She consciousness.” Mary qualified as a teacher, was arrested and sentenced to working at St Luke’s School two years in Holloway Prison and living nearby in Beeston. and went on hunger-strike She became a socialist and which adversely affected her joined the Independent Labour health. She wrote about this period in her autobiography “Up Party in 1904. By 1906 she had become Hill to Holloway” (published in the vice president of the Leeds 1962). Along with Grace Jardine and branch. She joined the Women’s Social and Political Dora Marsden, Mary published Union and was able to leave the first edition of the feminist teaching behind when she journal “The Freewoman” in became a full-time paid 1911. The most controversial aspect of this publication was organiser that year. Mary was much sought after that it advocated free love. That as a public speaker as she had year, the journalist Rebecca a booming voice (she had West penned an article that trained as an opera singer and claimed: “Marriage had certain knew how to project!). This did not prevent her commercial advantages. By it being pelted with boiled sweets the man secures the exclusive by “noisy youths” at an open-air right to the woman's body and meeting. Mary knew how to by it, the woman binds the man handle rowdy children thanks to support her during the rest to her teaching career and of her life... a more disgraceful carried on regardless. That was bargain was never struck."
By 1916 Mary Gawthorpe had emigrated to New York and was active in the American suffrage and trade union movements. Here she became the educational director of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and campaigned for a minimum wage. Despite marrying John Sanders in 1921 and becoming an American citizen, Mary retained her surname Gawthorpe. She returned briefly to the UK in 1933 and maintained contact with the Suffragette Fellowship. Surviving correspondence shows that in the 1950s and 1960s she retained her keen interest in all political issues, including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Sylvia Pankhurst said of Mary: "Mary Gawthorpe was a winsome merry creature, with bright hair and laughing hazel eyes, a face fresh and sweet as a flower, the dainty ways of a little bird, and having with all a shrewd tongue and so sparkling a fund of repartee, that she held dumb with astonished admiration, vast crowds of big, slow-thinking workmen and succeeded in winning to good-tempered appreciation the stubbornness opponents." International Women’s Day takes place on the 8th March 2021. Their website features this slogan: “A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. “So let's all choose to challenge. “How will you help forge a gender equal world? “Celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality.” And that is exactly what Mary Gawthorpe of Leeds was doing all that time ago.
Ann Jane Carlile (later her preferred spelling was Carlyle) is probably best remembered for her July 1847 visit to Leeds where a large crowd of boys and girls were assembled for a meeting in South Parade Chapel that had been organised by the Rev Jabez Tunnicliff where the question
asked was "what shall we call the Society?" Ann is reported to have replied: "They are a Band of Hope". There was disagreement who actually said this Carlile or Tunnicliff who also claimed credit but in the end it didn’t matter. The organisation still exists as Hope UK as do the
problems our Victorian forebears fought to solve. Ann Jane died on 14 March 1864 aged 89 and is buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Harold's Cross, Dublin. In February 2019 a plaque was unveiled to Ann Jane at the Presbyterian Church in the town of Bailieborough.
by Hazel Millichamp
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greatest source of strength. I thought I was going through all this on my own, alone until I found out about another very strong inspirational character. Sarah Thornton, a friend and neighbour in Beeston who was fighting a bigger battle than mine. She is dealing with the recent bereavement of her husband by channeling her emotions into art. ‘Facing the Storm!’ is her most recent painting conveying emotions of loss and depression during Covid. We hope the piece will be shown at the Leeds Art Gallery to illustrate the inner struggle facing grief.
kindness, Beeston you stepped up and you make my broken heart burst with pride. My hope is that my artwork will resonate hope, inspire or make someone feel less lonely. May you take some comfort in it and may it speak to your soul. You really are not alone, same storm, different boats. In tribute to David his funeral will be on Tuesday 9 March, a week before our son’s 13th birthday. The service is close family only at the Church of The Nazarene, Hunslet Hall Road. The funeral procession will begin at 12 noon and all who wish to pay respects can do so on the roadside down Dewsbury Road. Please maintain safe social distance and do not enter the church grounds. Donations can be made to the angels of Wheatfields Hospice.
16 South Leeds Lives
You are not alone! by Cllr Gohar Almass
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've experienced many journeys, travelled the world to many countries but nothing can compare to the personal journey I have been on in the last 18 months. As bizarre as it sounds I've been on the longest, toughest journeys, yet haven't even left my house. Real in-depth, facing things I haven't wanted to face, confronting my deepest inner self ... indeed there’s no greater challenge in one’s life than the battle within oneself. In the last 18 months I've been hit by a barage of bereavement. I am still grieving for the loss of my mother whose life was taken suddenly when she suffered a sudden heart attack. At only 65 this was a huge shock, she was with us one minute and seemingly fine, then just a couple of hours later she was gone. I reflect constantly as many things remained unsaid, thoughts and love are now buried with her and we cannot get that time back. We were then hit with the painful unexpected events with many great losses of good friends, colleagues and family whose lives had been cut short as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic we have all become so familiar with. The uproar and chaos this pandemic has caused and is still causing affecting every single one of us, taking over our way of life, limiting our interactions, routines, moving around, our plans, our priorities and for many of us sending our stress and emotional levels to breaking point. Looking back at the past 18 months saddens me deeply and I've been very affected, hurt to a whole different level. I have lost over two dozen friends, family members, colleagues and scores of people to this horrible pandemic. People I've come to know and
Sarah Thornton adds: his piece of work depicts how I feel currently, an expression of my grief and bereavement during lockdown. I hope it translates some of the overwhelming emotion I feel. I recently lost my husband to pancreatic cancer on 7 February. The restrictions and rules enforced by Covid have made things so much more fearful, adding to the sorrow of his death and beyond. Covid has put a strain on many causing uncertainty, financial burdens, stress and loneliness which all have a huge effect of our wellbeing. Face to face contact, sharing a hug, a smile have all become treasured gifts we long for. My hope is as we re adjust and rebuild, whatever our circumstances, we become more thoughtful, considerate and we appreciate the little things. I love our Beeston community and I am proud to be part of it. The impact of imagination and generosity from people I know and don't know has helped me through my bleakest moments yet. This had helped me feel 'held' and given my son and I strength to face the days. We have received an outpouring of love through cards, gifts, texts and a financial support page where people, some of whom I've never met face to face have donated a gift of money and prayed for me in a South Leeds WhatsApp prayer group. I'm thankful for the loving
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‘Facing the Storm!’ by Sarah Thornton serve alongside as a politician, community elders, close relatives of good friends the list goes on and on. I found myself thrown into a completely different routine, having been a local Councillor I've become used to a busy schedule, responding to community needs, attending council meetings, being at grass roots level and dealing with ongoing casework. Then suddenly I found myself, as so many others did, in a completely different territory, a complete standstill. The same four walls, no social contact, no face to face conversations, no spontaneity. Rigid Zoom calls took the place of meetings and they themselves had a whole
Gohar Almass with his mom dad and daughters
new set of social etiquette: taking turns to speak, listening carefully, muting and unmuting mics, trying to make sure everyone was heard in the allocated time and decisions were made. I no longer needed my car, or took actual journeys to places. I was confined to the same environment, as we all were and still are trying to make the best of a bad situation in order to stay safe and protect others. This constant groundhog day feeling pushed me into feeling more and more confined, the days all seemed the same, the weekends disappeared and normality had all but gone. All these factors mounted together to cause me to spiral into a whirlpool of devastating emotional depression. I had no control over anything and the depression had gripped me and I knew it would not let go easily. I got to a point where I could no longer make sense or navigate my feelings and thoughts and felt completely isolated and cut off which just
added to my sadness and pain. Going through all this and more I found comfort in listening to spiritual and mystical poetry and songs, trying to calm down a tsunami of emotions and a volcano of grief erupting within myself . To divert all this negativity I found a way to vent my emotions and inner feelings by writing poetry. Firstly I wrote a poem about my late mother and dedicated it to all mothers in Seraikee language, my native language similar to Punjabi and Hindi. I also composed music and recorded my voice using creativity to express myself. Lockdown restrictions have impacted this work, but I am confident I shall release it from UK, Dubai and Pakistan this summer. I’ve invested a lot of time on it and fully hope people will enjoy my tribute song which is also being translated in English, Arabic and Persian. During all this time my wife who is also my best friend, and my three daughters who are my life and soul, all remained my
In sharing our hearts we urge everyone not to feel lonely. Reach out and ask for help, you are worth it. Be kind to yourself and live life fully. May the struggles we encounter help us appreciate what we do have and not focus solely on what we don't. Share the love and help each other. Here are some amazing places of support in difficult times of grief and depression. West Yorkshire grief and loss support line. Leeds bereavement Forum, Leeds Mind, Age UK, Marie Curie, Macmillan Cancer Support, the NHS and compassionate friends. I personally would love to thank MHA South Leeds (Live at Home), local churches, Holbeck Together, Slung Low and all the other organisations that make South Leeds great, delivering shopping, befriending by phone, walking dogs, picking up medication, etc. You are heroes and we salute you and your efforts in helping your neighbours. There is hope for the future and a ‘new normal’, but together we are stronger and together we will keep moving forward with courage and strength.
The Thornton family: Sarah, David and Bradley
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Coping with loneliness by Shannon Humphey
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ell we’re slowly getting better at talking about mental health and wellbeing. It’s acknowledged that 1 in 4 of us will suffer from some sort of mental ill health and we realise how easily our lives can become impacted by its effects either personally, or because someone we care about is struggling. Something that’s still a bit of a taboo subject though and directly impacts mental ill health is the feeling of chronic loneliness. The sustained feeling of sadness many people feel because they have little or no meaningful human connection which can lead to anxiety and depression. An estimated 8 million people live alone in the UK and while living alone doesn’t automatically make a person lonely, it’s likely to contribute to periods of missing human interactions and passing conversations about nothing in particular. Loneliness isn’t a new thing created by the pandemic, although the lack of social interaction and enforced selfisolation can’t have helped. Loneliness was here long before Covid-19 began. According to the Campaign to End Loneliness 45% of adults in England feel some degree of loneliness every week, that's about twenty-five million people. We tend to assume that it’s only elderly people or people living alone that feel lonesome, when the truth is that under 25s are as likely to feel lonely
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March 2021 | South Leeds Life
as those over 65. That could be because most under 25s’ social interactions take place online. In a society where a person's character and popularity are based on social media likes and comments it can feel embarrassing to admit that life offline isn’t quite as much fun as they’d want others to believe. When there aren’t hundreds of random followers and friends hanging off every single word it can feel incredibly quiet and hollow when the noise turns off. Even pre-pandemic social interactions and passing the time of day with a friend, neighbour or even a stranger was gradually becoming a thing of the past. Self-checkouts, ordering deliveries online, people walking around engrossed in their phones or listening to music - with no time to stop and chat. The gradual demise of Post Offices, local shops and pubs has meant that idling away a few minutes of small-talk was already becoming less frequent. There are lots of different reasons people feel lonely. New parents who feel physically separated from their usual support networks. Employees used to the hustle and noise of a busy office, now sat by themselves at their kitchen table with nobody to talk to but the dog. School children and older students who miss the closeness of their friends anxious about, if or when they might see each other again. Then of course there’s the sadness and emptiness
South Leeds Lives 17
Everyone has a story outside and was often to be found on Belle Isle playing field playing football or rugby. He was also a very keen swimmer and whilst working at Samuel & Denison Factory in Hunslet he set up a Swimming Club for more than 50 employees at the Joseph Street public baths. Les feels lucky that he has always been involved in sport. He was a Leeds County Championship runner from 14 years old. He has also take part in lots of rugby coaching and helped his side win the all English Championship at Blackpool. It was the first time in 10 years that Yorkshire beat Lancashire in Rugby League and Les promises me there were very big celebrations afterwards with his friend Peter Bell! Les and his adored wife Pat
The Barnbow Royal Ordnance Factory was built between 1939 and 1940 in order to produce armaments for use in the Second World War. At its peak it employed 3,000 workers, 2,000 of which were women. It produced approximately 9,000 guns. Les’ Mum would set off each day at 5am and would not return home until 7pm each night, for six days per week.
Luckily for Les he had a close friend Peter, with a big family with whom he would spend time until it was time for school and after school until his Mum got home. The family consisted of 5 brothers and 2 sisters, so Les was never lonely. Les explained that this was a huge relief for his Mum as there were no social security benefits in those days and she had to work long hard hours at the factory to keep food on their table. When I asked Les how he had felt about these arrangements, he explained that they didn’t know life could be any different so they just got on with it! Les thinks that although times are hard these days for many, when he was younger there was not as much help from charities, there were no food banks to help families like his out. Although Les’ mother worked at the Royal Ordnance Factory at Barnbow for years, she eventually became a manageress at Croppett’s dry cleaners on the Headrow and very much preferred her new role. Les explained to me that things have changed so very much since he was young – he had no TV or internet, only the radio. However Les was so active he very rarely listened to that! He was always playing
caused by grief. The family and friends living in different parts of the world who can’t touch or hold each other in their arms. Couples who live in the same house but never interact on a deeper more meaningful level, each engrossed in their lives online while totally disregarding the person they are physically with. People who worshipped regularly but can’t attend religious services or meet friends, and elderly people who relied on day centres to fill the void of loneliness. Each is as lonely as the other. Loneliness can literally affect anyone. Perhaps the hardest part of being lonely is admitting it to yourself, and then doing something about it. If you’re feeling lonely or know someone who is - here are a few ideas that you might want to consider. 1. Pick up the phone, text a friend and arrange a time to call them. Conversations are often more meaningful than a series of texts, you can check in on each other and arrange to do something when it’s safe to do so. If you don’t feel like you have someone that you can speak to then get in touch with The Campaign to End
Loneliness that has a befriending service. www.campaigntoendlonelines s.org/helpful-links/ 2. Volunteer. Loneliness often arises when we don’t feel we have anyone to share our true worth, value or purpose with. There are lots of community groups that would gladly accept the help of a volunteer - it’s a great way to meet new people and give back to the area you live in doinggoodleeds.org.uk 3. Do you have a passion or hobby? I can guarantee that whatever you’re into has a website or a Facebook page dedicated to it. Log on and find like-minded people to chat with about your passions. 4. If you are fit and able, go for a walk - it’s a good way to meet people and strike up (socially distant) conversations while getting fresh air and a change of scenery. I find early morning dog walkers pretty sociable! 5. Reconnect with good friends you have lost touch with. It might feel awkward at first, but once the ice is broken it might be like you were never apart. The hardest part is making the first move, you never know they might be
feeling the same way that you are. 6. Consider life beyond lockdown, what would you like to do? What would make you happy? Make a list of all the things you want to enjoy. There are friendship groups that cater for single people who are just interested in making new friends to socialise with. Walking, gardening, book clubs, restaurant visits, days out etc. There’s usually a subscription fee to join, but there’s usually plenty of activities to choose from and there’s bound to be something you like the sound
by Hazel Millichamp
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had a wonderful conversation with Les McIver about how different life was back when he was a boy. Les lost his Dad in 1939, when he was just seven, his mother had to take up work at the Barnbow Armaments Factory in Cross Gates.
School days at Hunslet Carr
were together for 63 glorious years until he was recently widowed. She was very happy to support him in his sporting life. Before he met Pat, Les would go dancing to the Mecca and Arcade dancehalls and on Saturday nights to the Scala. Les was quite a mover and the jive was his specialty. When he first asked Pat to come dancing with him she replied “I’ll go with you, as long as you don’t go off dancing with someone else!” But of course, Les only wanted to dance with Pat and he swept her off her feet with his dancing moves! Les has seen many changes come to the city of Leeds and he feels not all of them have been for the best, he wishes people were more friendly. So next time you come across an older person give them a wave or a smile – you never know what their story could be and you could be talking to an expert jiver or a sporting hero. Everyone has a story.
Les and Pat on their wedding day of. Find a group that aligns with what you are interested in. 7. There are currently 37,000 elderly people living in isolation in Leeds. If you’ve made a meal and have a little over, could you drop it off (safely) for an elderly neighbour who is living alone? For more information about how you could help an elderly person in your area visit www.ageuk.org.uk/leeds Shannon Humphrey is a First Aid for Mental Health Instructor. Find out more about the work she does at www. pathwaysforpositivity.com 07470 887783
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18 Art Life
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Slung Low create Online vs The Real-World Rockdown gallery by Bruce Davies
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ollowing on from the success of last summer’s LS11 Art Gallery, which displayed local residents artwork on lampposts in the area, Slung Low, Holbeck’s own theatre company, has launched a new participatory art project. The Rock-down Gallery will be created by local people decorating cobble stones to brighten up the streets of
Holbeck. Speaking about the project, Ruth Saxton said: “This lockdown is getting us down. It’s time for a little bit of joy, and a colourful splash of hope. We can’t wait for spring so we’re filling Holbeck with beautifully painted stones, decorated by you. “We have bought a ton of Scottish Cobbles; enough for every person in Holbeck to decorate one. Then we’ll place all the stones around the area to transform Holbeck into our Rock-down Gallery. “Let’s fill our community with colour!” If you and/or your child would like to take part, email info@ slunglow.org with your details or call in to The Holbeck, Jenkinson Lawn, LS11 9QX between 10am and 5pm on weekdays, collect a stone and art materials, decorate your rock, and then return to The Holbeck. Decorate a stone for the street gallery
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s we approach the twelfth month of lockdown, in one form or another, here at BasementArtsProject in Beeston we also acknowledge that it is also a year since we were last able to open our doors to the public. Hull based artist Lou Hazelwood has had the longest exhibition in the history of our organisation, opening in May 2020 and finally being taken down in December 2020, despite only being physically accessible to the public for about a month like any other exhibition. Not to be beaten by the bug, we decided that we would explore ways in which we could continue whilst our access to the Real-World was prohibited. By May we had the usual page of exhibition documentation up for Lou’s exhibition with photographs and essays, but this time it included a video virtual walk-around accompanied by a conversation between myself and the artist. www.basementartsproject.co m/landscapes-of-the-unknown Across the year we replaced our Real-World programme with a virtual one. BasementArtsProject’s online Studio Journal, normally used to present other work by people exhibiting at The Basement as documentation of their practice, was handed over to any artist that wished to present work during lockdown. Since the beginning of last
April, the Lockdown Journal has presented photography, drawing, painting, poetry, documentation of new works in production, diary’s and essays. Having had to delay every single artist in our 2020 programme we did manage to realise one more project in February 2021. My Kingdom For A Croissant by Wakefield based sculptor Nicholas Vaughan was due to open in December 2020, looking at the subject of Brexit and our current government’s attitude towards race and immigration. As a temporary My Kingdom For A Croissant by Nicholas Vaughan substitute for this exhibition, as rarely does artwork alone BasementArtsProject created pay the bills for most. Recent an online 3D virtual gallery Lockdown Journal posts by space and placed a selection of artist Chloe Harris depict her Nick’s work in it. We then had a life as a key worker for the launch for the project online in Amazon Warehouse in Leeds, which people could interact whilst locked down as an artist. Online is of course no with myself and Nick online via Instagram whilst walking substitute for the real world, art around the virtual space. We relies as much on its are hoping to be able to realise interactions and the kind of the Real-World version at discussions that happen BasementArtsProject in through chance encounters. At BasementArtsProject we November 2021. Many artists live double lives recognise the importance of during normal times never getting people together to look mind during a global pandemic, at, discuss and get involved in
creativity as part of a daily routine. This year BasementArtsProject turns 10 years old, and regardless of the lockdown situation we will be celebrating that - online or off. But more about how we will be doing that soon. As lockdown continues, and we speculate further about the point at which we will be able to gather together again, artists will continue to tend the light at the end of the tunnel. Preparation for a world desperate for change but worth returning to ...
Crown Point Bridge to feature in Compass arts festival C
ompass Festival returns to South Leeds next month with one of the key artworks located at Crown Point Bridge in Hunslet. The Ballad of Crown Point Bridge is a sonic artwork by artist Amy Sharrocks and sound designer Tom Hackley exploring the people and water of Leeds. Crown Point Bridge is where the water of the River Aire and its wildlife meet the canalised city water and where on the dark underside of the bridge, the reactions to the assault of city life are graphically vocalised in spray paint. The Leeds & Liverpool Canal is the longest line of concrete enclosure of UK water. Depending on your view, the shoreline of this canal could be seen as a perilous carving out,
an incredible engineering feat or a vast act of partition and control, enabling the extraction of natural resources. Working with groups from the Leeds community including charities, swimmers, young people and graffiti artists and remembering those who made the underside of the bridge their home, Amy Sharrocks will gather personal stories and recollections of the bridge and of water. These words will be channelled back to us as we walk through the underside of the bridge. Between their words and the water, perhaps we can negotiate a different social contract between the people, the city and the water. Festival co-director Annie Lloyd said: “Now more than ever we are indebted to the imagination of
artists as they bring joy and remind us of our common humanity. This programme features work from a range of artists working in various mediums from the digital sphere to interacting with the natural environment. “Through these works, the artists celebrate the power of community, our resilience and adaptability. We are delighted to offer this invitation to experience each of these projects which we hope will allow audiences to be playful and creative in everyday public spaces once more.” The interactive festival offers six thought provoking and playful projects staged from 19 March and throughout 2021: • Anxiety Arcade, a fullsized arcade machine which will be located in Leeds city
centre. • One in, One out: Leeds’s Smallest Gay Bar is a playful interactive installation exploring the role of the gay bar in contemporary queer culture created by artist Lucy Hayhoe. • Museums in People’s Homes with artefacts housed within a portable museum complete with a tiny gift shop and cafe. • Pick Me Up (& hold me tight) is both a national project to make all the 34,000 public phone boxes in the UK ring at the same time at 11am daily. • Public House – The Yorkshire Square will be a foursided fully operational pop-up pub in Leeds Kirkgate market. • There will also be a series of four podcasts for people unable to venture into public The Ballard of Crown Point Bridge by Amy Sharrocks spaces.
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Hub’s after school club S
outh Leeds Youth Hub is launching its Short Breaks Afterschool Club for young people 8-18 years with additional needs. The club will meet on Wednesdays in term time from 4:30-7pm. The cost is £5 each which includes a light dinner. Upcoming activities include: • Wednesday 3 March: Found Art / Mini Beast Homes • Wednesday 10 March: Nail Painting / Clay Modroc • Wednesday 17 March: Tie-dye and Fabric Pens T-shirt Design
What’s On 19
Linking Leeds
hanks to Covid-19 Government Funding from the Inner South Community Committee, LS-TEN Skatepark is taking to YouTube to deliver online Skateboard, Scooter and BMX tutorials throughout lockdown. The pandemic has severely limited young people’s access to sport and physical activity,
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Contact southleedshub @leeds.gov.uk to request a place or to request more information.
inking Leeds is a free citywide social prescribing service, which can link you with services and activities within your community to improve your social, economic and mental wellbeing. The service can empower you to make a change in your own life. Linking Leeds is for anyone aged 16+ and registered to a GP surgery in Leeds. They will tend to work with you for up to 12 weeks, this depends on what you need as some people just want information on what is available, while others need more help.
and so LS-TEN aims to provide opportunities for wheeled sports enthusiasts to continue to develop their skills. These free online tutorials will focus on beginner’s tricks, providing a safe and positive introduction to wheeled sports for everyone to access. Due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, LS-TEN has been unable to
deliver its usual wheeled sport coaching activities and hopes that this new approach will serve to increase participation and inspire new riders. “The pandemic has presented us with unique challenges and has encouraged us to adapt the way we deliver coaching and to embrace new ways of working. Participation in wheeled sports has drastically increased since Covid and National Lockdowns began, and we need to ensure we can continue to engage with our users and new riders” says Denham Hill, Community Manager at LS-TEN. All videos will be made available on the “LS-TEN Skatepark” YouTube channel, with two tutorial videos per week being uploaded. Regular updates will also be posted on the LS-TEN Facebook page.
Community Committee T
he next meeting of the Inner South Community Committee will be held on Wednesday 3 March at 2pm. Because of the pandemic, this meeting will be held online. The Committee is made up of the nine Councillors for our three wards: Beeston & Holbeck, Hunslet & Riverside and Middleton Park. The meeting starts with an Open Forum, this is an opportunity for members of the public to
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• Wednesday 24 March: Smores and Haloumi Kebabs • Wednesday 31 March: Easter Egg Hunt
LS-TEN Skatepark online T
March 2021 | South Leeds Life
ask questions or raise issues directly with their Councillors. Because the meeting is taking place online, please email your issue to communitycommittee funding@leeds.gov.uk. These will then be read out at the meeting and considered by the committee. The committee is also responsible some Council functions in the area such as street cleaning and youth services; and it manages a
well-being budget that funds large and small projects. The standard business section will include a Finance Report and Update Report. You can follow the meeting via a livestream on the Leeds City Council website www.leeds .gov.uk, where you can also read the full report pack. You will also find the links on the Committee’s Facebook page at fb.com/LCCInnerSouth
Linking Leeds will: • Give you an opportunity to discuss what is important to you. • Link you with appropriate services within your community to support you to achieve your goals. • Provide you with your own wellbeing coordinator who will help you plan your next steps. If you think you would benefit from this service or have any questions, you can introduce yourself to the social prescribing service by contacting: (0113) 336 7612; linking.leeds@nhs.net; on the www.commlinks.co.uk website; or you can gain an introduction via your GP surgery.
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n November 2021 World leaders will gather in Glasgow at COP 26 to discuss again the need for a workable plan to counter climate change. Environmentalists and Trades Unionists are also planning to influence the outcome of debates to ensure that no more time is wasted and to call for sustainable employment. A huge turnout in Glasgow would be expected in “normal times” but Covid-19 need not stop nationwide protests and activity throughout the country. To help organise a plan of action in West Yorkshire, the Leeds Trades Union Council is holding a
meeting, on Zoom, on Saturday 6 March, 11am-1pm. Speakers : Stuart Graham of UNISON, Glasgow Trades Union Council and member of the steering group for the Trade Union caucus of the COP 26 Coalition; and Paul Chatterton from Our Future Leeds.
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20 Sporting Life
My Lockdown workout by Ed Carlisle
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hysical activity has been one of the few positive things we’ve been encouraged to still do since Covid-19 changed all our lives in 2020. With new social distancing rules, and organising activities and venues having to stop and start, many people across south Leeds have been finding new ways to stay active and healthy. We heard some of their stories - and would love to hear yours too (see below). Clara (Beeston Hill): “Before lockdown, I had gym membership, although it was hard to stay motivated. But this last year, I’ve learnt to cycle for the first time, and I really love it! I cycle with my family or on my own, and I don't feel like I'm actually exercising: it's fun, and a lot easier to motivate myself to do it.” Another new cyclist Julie (in Beeston) told us: “Last year was hard, I started to feel anxious and depressed – and even though I’d been a fitness instructor, I found it difficult to sustain doing exercise at home. “So I borrowed my brother’s bicycle and started to cycle; it great to get outdoors, to get exercise, and it gave me such a buzz. I could feel the anxiety and depression lift every time l cycled.” Julie has now set up a new local cycling group, in conjunction with the Big Bike Fix. Kay-Lee (Belle Isle): “We got
Photo: Shutterstock our daughter a new set of rollerskates for Christmas, to keep her active and healthy, and to give her a new challenge to master. Teaching her has been really funny, a highlight of this recent lockdown.” Kelly: “I felt down during lockdown, and wanted some time to feel like me again, and not just mum or wife - so I joined DAZL’s online dancefit sessions. I was a little bit apprehensive at first, as my dancing wasn’t the best - but I now really look forward to it. It’s made me feel more confident, I can have a laugh whilst exercising, and I’m getting my daily steps in!” Ana (Hunslet): "Staying active's been the highlight of lockdown. It's kept my mental and physical health in check, much needed when you're a teacher and mother of 6 yearold twins! Most recently, I did 'Red January', to raise money for Mind (exercising every day);
I did it with a group of 20 women, and it was amazing to have support and learn new ways to stay active." Freda (Beeston Hill): “Active probably isn’t quite the right word – but embroidery, crosswords and jigsaws have kept the old grey cells from seizing up, and an active brain keeps you going.” LS-Ten skatepark in Hunslet have kept their doors open as much as Covid-19 restrictions have allowed, and have seen a huge increase in beginners and new people coming to the park. Staff member Tosh tell us: “There’s been an increase in under 8s and families, women skateboarders, and especially women’s Quad Skating (rollerskating). You can do the sport on any flat ground, its affordable, it’s a great way of exercise, and most of all you’re doing it whilst having fun.” Kidz Klub Leeds developed a ‘WOW’ (Winter Outside Walks)
initiative, of which local resident and project coordinator Laura said: “Some of our Kidz Klub families have used the WOW discovery sheets, which are really just silly scavenger hunts that help you explore your local area, discover local pocket parks and things you've never seen before, and do activities like bird spotting and making snowmen.” St Mary’s Primary School in Hunslet have been running a challenge encouraging their pupils to climb their stairs at home (3m each time) enough times to have reached the equivalent of landmarks like Leeds’ tallest building (120m), the world’s tallest skyscraper (1350m), Mont Blanc (4400m), and even Everest (8850m)! These are just a few of the many positive active things local people have taken on. Others tell us that they have kept active by: walking their dog more; playing on their wii games console; building igloos, and scraping up ice from around their neighbourhood, during the cold snap; and picking up their kids’ lego on repeat! We’d love to hear what other activities you’ve been discovering – on your own, or with your family. For more info and ideas, free online sessions, and more, visit: active.leeds.gov.uk. And if you’re in Beeston Hill or Holbeck, find out more about the Get Set Leeds Local project in your area, working with local people to make being active the easier choice, below.
Get Set Beeston Hill & Holbeck by Karen Peck
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et Set Leeds Local (GSLL) is a 3 year Sport England funded project within Beeston Hill and Holbeck (along with New Wortley and Seacroft) providing insight back to Sport England about how a place based approach can support change. We’re going to start a monthly update within South Leeds Life on some of the ways you can get involved, or
Photo: Shutterstock
activities that have happened within the local area. We know people often want to be active, but many of us don’t always find it easy to be active every day. This 3 year funded project began just as Covid-19 came along, so like many others, quickly had to adapt. The thing that hasn’t changed is that we believe people within Beeston Hill and Holbeck will often have the good ideas themselves for what
would help them, their families or neighbours to move more. We’re keen to better understand the things that make being active difficult, and work with residents and partners to think of some of the solutions, some of which collectively we can then develop together. We’re keen to capture and share stories of how people of all ages within Holbeck and Beeston Hill keep active, which can be used to inspire others. Together we can create a movement which motivates others to move more. Funding is available through GSLL to help build community capacity, supporting local people who live or work within Beeston Hill and Holbeck to access training or upskilling opportunities. This could be accessing an existing course or us developing something new which may be more useful. In 2020 we delivered Xplorer training and Walk leader training to volunteers and staff
with Your Space, Leeds Dads, Slung Low, Hamara, local community connectors and St Luke’s Cares ABCD workers. For a list of training course ideas contact James.Beaston @leeds.gov.uk for our latest etraining catalogue. GSLL wants to support more people living within Beeston Hill and Holbeck to feel they can access opportunities so please do get in touch. We’re also keen to invest in community good ideas. We have a small Community Chest Pot available (up to £300) which can seed fund an idea, so get in touch if you have an idea of something you’d like to do or try. We can also explore how we develop some bigger ideas collectively with those living and working in these neighbourhoods, so get in touch if you’d like to be involved. Follow GSLL on Facebook @GSLHolbeck&BeestonHill or contact karen.peck@leeds .gov.uk for more information
Facebook: facebook.com/southleedslife
Hunslet RLFC’s season kick off by Ian Pickles
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he RFL (Rugby Football League) have announced the Betfred League 1 Fixtures for 2021 and it’s a tough start for Hunslet RLFC. Last season the Parksiders started with two relatively easy games against both the Welsh clubs (which they won) and actually sat at the head of the table before the Lockdown kicked in. 9 May is kick off date, and with the roll out of vaccinations going well and infections seeming to be slowing down, Hunslet will be hoping to get things back underway after more than a year off. Hunslet’s first fixture is at home to Workington Town, a rival club who have had some success at the South Leeds Stadium in recent years. If the Parksiders are hoping to be contenders this is a must win game. The club will be hoping sports starved fans will flock to the game boosting the coffers (although the club may have to operate Covid safe measures). With Hunslet not being in this season’s Challenge Cup and Newcastle Thunder being promoted up to the Championship it only leaves a short season of 18 games, so Hunslet must hit the ground running if they are to challenge for promotion. After an away game at North Wales another top outfit in Barrow visit South Leeds before the Parksiders visit Keighley in what will be a tough May. The club recently announced a sponsored ‘Run for Rob’ to the away game at Keighley (Sunday 30 May). Starting at the canal basin, it’s a 19.5 mile trot along the canal towpath to Cougar Park in aid of Leeds Rhino’s Rob Burrow’s battle
with Motor Neurone Disease. Participants can run, walk or cycle and all money goes to support MND and SiTRAN (Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience). June see’s away trips to West Wales and London Scholars whilst both Rochdale Hornets and Doncaster visit the South Leeds Stadium. Back in 2019 Hunslet’s home form was their bugbear in the latter part of the season, so it may be of some comfort that the harder teams are to be faced at home first. A quiet July see’s the Parksiders visit Coventry and entertain West Wales, but the visit at the end of the month by much vaunted Keighley Cougars sets a hard challenge. Early away games in August at Doncaster and Barrow will give us some idea of where Hunslet stand, I would suggest if they are in the top 3 at this point then they are looking good. The next three home games against London, Coventry and West Wales would be considered must wins. Hunslet will be hoping to have secured promotion (by winning the league) or at least be in the play-off spots (2nd6th) by the time they have to travel to Rochdale Hornets and then Workington Town on the final weekend of the season. The RFL did announce that if games had to be cancelled due to Covid and could not be arranged a Win Percentage system would be employed rather than the traditional points system. All eyes are on the Government and RFL now then as Rugby League tries to get back to normality. If you are interested in watching Hunslet RLFC this season please check out the website, most games are 3pm on a Sunday.
Jimmy Watson heads for the line against Workington Town in May 2019 Photo: Paul Johnson / Phoenix Photography