Category Archives: Community News

1001 Stories

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Are you over 60 with a story to share?

1001 Stories is a mass-participation project that sits at the heart of Leeds’ 2023 Year of Culture.

“A collaboration between The Performance Ensemble, Leeds Playhouse, LEEDS 2023, Leeds Museums and Galleries and Leeds Older People’s Forum, the joint-project will put the voices, histories and stories of older people centre-stage by gathering 1001 stories from those aged 60 and over and creating new artistic work based on these stories.

We believe that everybody is creative and has a story to tell, this could be anything from a funny anecdote, to a milestone memory. Your story does not have to be a long one; if it is true and means something to you, then we want to hear it. 

Our aim is to present a vast range of experiences from the people of Leeds and to demonstrate that the stories of older people have cultural value – whether that is by making others laugh, think, feel or simply engage with a story that is different from their own.

Anyone over the age of 60 with a connection to Leeds is eligible to take part; whether you were born here, have previously lived or worked here, or currently call Leeds home.

If you are over 60 and have a story you would like to share – no matter how big or small, long or short, wild or everyday, we’d love to hear from you.”

You can find lots of information on The Performance Ensemble website https://theperformanceensemble.com/1001stories/ including a link to submit a story online or you can view some of the stories so far

The team want to make 1001 Stories accessible so that as many people as possible can take part. If you need further assistance in submitting your story, or would like to discuss the project with the team, you can contact them directly using the details below.

Email: 1001stories@leedsplayhouse.org.uk

Call or message: 07846 575377

Feel Good Festival at Little London Community Centre

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Feel Good Festival - Day One, 22 August | Event in Woodhouse | AllEvents.in

Together We Can are excited to invite you to join them in their summer celebration, “What Makes You Feel Good?” Explore new ways to express yourself, uncover some new talents and share with us what makes you feel good.

Together We Can is Leeds Involving People’s lived experience mental health network.

There are loads of different activities to try, from drumming to balancing chakras, celebrating neurodiversity to creating your own tissue paper posies and many more!

Day One is at Little London Community Centre and there are also events at Beeston Village Community Centre on Tuesday 23rd and at New Headingley Club on Wednesday 24th.

You can register here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/feel-good-festival-day-one-tickets-387431426827 and you can also book on individual activities here or it is ok to turn up on the day.

Leeds Pride 2022

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Sunday 7th August – Leeds City Centre

Event Details and Travel diversions

Leeds Pride

Leeds Pride is back after missing two years due to the pandemic. Every year, Leeds Pride attracts over 50,000 people and the parade through the city features over 100 floats. Yorkshire’s biggest Pride event and it is free!! It’s fully inclusive and everyone is welcome to attend.

The schedule for the main day (Sunday) is as follows:

  • 12pm – 2pm – Sainsbury’s Parade Stage entertainment programme – Millennium Square
  • 2pm – The Robert Payne Parade – Millennium Square to The Calls
  • 3pm – 9pm – First Direct Main Stage entertainment programme – Lower Briggate

Events take place throughout the weekend; the Civic Hall will be lit in the colours of the rainbow and will proudly display the Pride flag for all to see; on Saturday a Community Marketplace is taking place in Brodrick Hall, Leeds City Museum from 11am to 4pm where people can find out about LGBT+ services, support and social groups in Leeds.

LCC and the organisers of Pride have tried to ensure that the spaces at Millennium Square and Lower Briggate are easily accessible so that everyone can enjoy the day. There will be a raised access platform in Millennium Square (also known as Accessible Viewing Area (AVA)) which is reserved for disabled people and their carers. Next to the AVA there are changing facilities, toilets as well as wheelchair accessible toilets. There are also accessible toilets in the permanent toilet provision under Millennium Square. There will also be two accessible buses parked on Great George Street. One of which will depart earlier to take people to the event spaces on lower Briggate. This allows those persons to get a position on the AVA on Lower Briggate. The second bus will travel as part of the parade.

Stewards will be available on the day to assist disabled people to find the AVA and toilets in both areas.

To find out more, please visit https://www.leedspride.com/accessibility-1

Bus services and road closures:

The parade route covers Millennium Square, Cookridge Street, The Headrow, Vicar Lane, Kirkgate, York Street, Duke Street, Kirkgate, High Court, The Calls, Call Lane and Lower Briggate and these roads will be closed approximately 13.45 – 16.15

Lower Briggate, Call Lane and Meadow Lane are closed 0400 – 2359.

A number of bus services will be diverted (including the 51/52 route) and you can see all the details here: https://wymetro.com/leedspride2022

Message from our councillors re Student Changeover

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An update on Student Changeover, the period when many students in the area all move house.
We have had 6 enforcement Officers patrolling the whole area from 8am until 4pm since 20th June. They have been advising residents on what to do with waste, handing out warnings for presenting waste in the street and issuing fines where necessary.
This is planned to be continuing until 6th July by which time the vast majority of people moving house in this period will have done so.
We have been working on educating students, landlords and letting agents since the beginning of this year in preparation for this student changeover period.
In regards to waste clearance we have put in as much extra resource in Headingley, Hyde park and Woodhouse as possible – obviously yesterday and today are the days when most people move so we should be reaching a peak with everything improving over the next few days.
Our Cleaner Neighbourhoods Team operatives are working up until 7pm every day in this period, doing extra hours to alleviate as much pressure as possible.
As local Councillors we too are supplementing this with ward walks and reporting in flytipping and waste – we are also reporting in all that is sent to us over email or text.
If you are moving, please do not leave items out on your wall or in the street in the hope that people will want to take your things. 95% of these sort of items will not get taken and then the rest becomes illegal flytipping.
Please dispose of your waste properly, either through acknowledged donation channels or thrown away properly.
There is a huge amount to get through, so please bear with us over the next few days, and do contact us if you think there’s a street or area being missed. And thank you to all those residents for their patience in this annual difficult period!
Cllrs Walshaw, Pryor & Garthwaite

al.garthwaite@leeds.gov.uk

jonathan.pryor@leeds.gov.uk

neil.walshaw@leeds.gov.uk

Insect Hotel at Woodhouse

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It was lovely to see this amazing insect hotel in the garden at Woodhouse Community Centre. It was created by the Inkwell gardening group using lots of natural and found materials, this insect hotel is the perfect home for all our beautiful bugs and perfect pollinators!

The gardening group meet on Thursday mornings 10am – 11.30am – new members welcome

Deadline for Leeds Council Tax/Energy Rebates

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Friday 24th June – 5pm

Help us to help you – that’s the message from Leeds City Council to people in Leeds who have yet to make their application for a council tax rebate payment.

All households in Council Tax Band A-D have been entitled to a £150 payment as part of the Government’s response to rising energy bills.

This applies even if you do not pay council tax because of receiving full council tax support (benefit) or are exempt for another reason.

All who pay council tax by direct debit should have automatically received this payment into their bank accounts

Those who do not pay by direct debit (including those who do not pay at all) have been able to claim via an online form since 4th April. But latest figures show that around two-thirds of Leeds’s 120,000 non-direct debit households have not yet applied.

The claim form can be found here: www.leeds.gov.uk/council-tax/£150-council-tax-rebate. Staff at the council’s community hubs can help you with this process if you need it.

Also, here at Caring Together, we have been helping lots of our members to complete these applications and you can contact us if you haven’t applied yet and need some help.

Later in the year the council does plan to issue vouchers or a credit to council tax bills for those who have not received the rebate but crucially, those who proactively apply before 5pm on June 24 will get their rebate more quickly.

Litter Free Leeds

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Leeds Goes Purple

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Friday 10th June – Sunday 12th June

Have you seen those purple bin bags dotted around your area?

If you didn’t know, they’re being filled up by local people who are doing litter picks in your area as part of Litter Free Leeds.

We all know litter is an eyesore and can be a danger to wildlife and pets. Each year 60,000 bags of litter are collected in Leeds by people ranging from individuals, families doing a quick pick as part of a day out or dog walk, to organised groups and even businesses wanting to do something to make a difference in their area.

Litter Free Leeds is organising a ‘Leeds Goes Purple’ weekend starting today and running until Sunday 12th June to celebrate the contributions being made across the city and to spread the news to anyone who wants to join in and do their bit in and around their local communities.

If you want to join in, contact your local group – Woodhouse Womblers – oracy@ymail.com to get your purple bags.