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KIRKSTALL MATTERS issue 99 Autumn/Winter 2008 PAGE 1

Websites: www.matters.kirkstall.org.uk and www.kirkstall.org.uk

The magazine of Kirkstall Valley Community Association

Issue 99 Autumn/Winter 2008

£1

In this issue: Kirkstall Festival ‘08 Shakespeare Tragedy Otters on the Aire BMX in Kirkstall Alderman Minkin Leeds Museum Flood Defences Schools Scouts Kirkstall Vision The Mills, whose gain? What’s on? Letters Planning And more ...

Help needed ! Help is needed to write, compile and edit

Kirkstall Matters. Please contact Ken Stratford on

0113 275 5413 or [email protected]

If you would like to be involved or find out more.

Kirkstall Festival 2008: Never before seen in a picture—the Team that made the Festival happen—or most of them. Taken on the day when the crowds have gone and the field has been cleared up.

Cheers Volunteers!


Useful telephone numbers

Weetwood Police, front desk

0113 241 3459

Police (non-emergencies) 0845 606 0606

Libraries

Local branches, with facilities available:

Kirkstall Library tel. 214 4529 26 Kirkstall Lane Mon 1pm – 5pm

Wed 10am – 5pm Fri 1pm – 5pm

Sat 10am – 1pm

facilities: Council Papers, Disabled Access, Photocopier, Fax

Burley Library tel. 214 4528

Cardigan Road

Mon 2pm – 7pm Wed 9.30am – 5pm

Fri 2pm – 6pm Sat 11.30am – 3pm

facilities: Asian Language Books,

CD Rom Multimedia, Meeting Room, Disabled Access, Fax, Internet Access

Bramley Library tel. 214 6040

Hough Lane

Mon 10am – 8pm Tues 10am – 6pm Wed 10am – 5pm Fri 10am – 3pm

Sun 11am – 3pm

facilities: CD ROM Multimedia, Council Papers, Theatre Bookings,

Disabled access, Photocopier, Study Area, Fax, Internet Access

Headingley Library tel. 214 4525

North Lane

Mon to Fri 9.30am - 7pm Sat 9.30am - 5pm Sun 11am - 4pm

facilities:Asian Language Books, UK Yellow Pages, CD ROM Multimedia,

Computer Catalogue, Council Papers, Meeting Room,

Theatre Bookings, Videos, Disabled Access, Photocopier,

Study Area, CD’s, Fax,

Planning Applications, Sale of Book Tokens, Internet Access

Kirkstall Matters email: [email protected]

EDITOR : Ken Stratford

Contributors: John Liversedge, Val Crompton, John Illingworth, Andrea Padden, Ann Lightman, Lee Mawson, Richard Frank, Ken Waterworth, Bernard Atha, Pat Oddy, Don Vine, Wendy

Moore, Steve Harris, Keith Collridge, Published 3 times a year.

NEXT COPY DATE: 31 January 2009 Articles, readers' letters, poems etc. are most welcome. Our preferred format is Microsoft Word. We can also accept Works, or Microsoft Publisher. Kirkstall Matters is produced using Microsoft Publisher 2003.

Ideally please e-mail your file as an attachment to the address at the top of this page or deliver it on disk to our postal address (see below). If you can't provide your article in electronic form, you can deliver it to our postal address, 76, Morris Lane, LS5 3EN.

The views expressed in KIRKSTALL MATTERS are those of the contributors. If not attributed to individuals, they are from The Editorial Team. They are not necessarily the views of the KVCA. KIRKSTALL VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1978, with the aim ‘to promote the benefit of the inhabitants of Kirkstall and the neighbourhood'.

We are non-party political, non-sectarian and a registered charity. KVCA is also responsible for organising events and activities, for example through the KIRKSTALL FESTIVAL COMMITTEE. KVCA acts as a pressure group and a watchdog on developments affecting Kirkstall. KVCA campaigns and co-operates on a number of issues with

certain other local organisations, as it decides.

It is open to anyone to join. See application form on page 46. ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP IS £4. Membership includes three issues per year of KIRKSTALL MATTERS, delivered within Kirkstall and the immediate area. If you live outside Kirkstall, you can still

become a member, but we need a donation of £3 to cover postage if you are to receive the magazine by post:

c/o The Treasurer, 18 The Rise, Leeds LS5 3EP

websites:

Kirkstall Matters in Colour If you have access to a computer and the internet, you can now see some of the pictures taken for

Kirkstall Matters magazine in glorious colour! www.flickr.com/photos/kirkstallmatters

You can also find back issues of ‘Kirkstall Matters’ in.PDF format on

our community website: www.kirkstall.org.uk

Send Matthew Guy or Martin Lewis, news & photos:

Kirkstall Community Website:

See also www.matters.kirkstall.org.uk

for KVCA information or to download

Cover photo: Steve Harris Printed by Smallprint


Editorial November 2008

Dear Reader, This issue of the magazine is later than it normally appears. That can’t be helped (and its at this point that I start banging on about KVCA needing people to get involved as volunteers). But seriously though, look at the picture of the people on the front cover, some of who have just done two days hard graft putting the festival together. They are still smiling. Just goes to show that volunteering is not only good for the world, its good for your soul, karma—call it what you will. In this issue, we have tried to portray in pictures some of the flavour of our 28th Festival. We have picked up the issue of the way the Shakespeare Festival has been treated. We have continued with the saga of the use or misuse of potential local resources. There is other material, concerning the environment, the river valley and other things that are ‘normal’, The next issue of ‘Kirkstall Matters’ is issue number 100. It would be nice to make something special of it, to celebrate all the years and issues the magazine has covered. Any volunteers to assemble a complete back collection of all 99 editions read through them all and produce an article reviewing them? Is there anyone out there who can use or would like to learn to use Pagemaker, in helping put the magazine together. We want our 100th issue to be out on time. So yes, I am banging on about volunteers after all. All offers of help will be gratefully received.

Ken Stratford

Steve Gradys Vice Chair

KVCA

John Liversedge Chairman

KVCA

Ken Stratford KVCA

Secretary

Contents Issue 99

Information 2 Editorial 3 What’s On 4 KVCA Chair 5 What happened to Shakespeare? 6 Flood defences, good or bad? 8 Planning notes 9 Hawksworth Wood School 10 Beecroft School 12 Liz Minkin 13 Vision for Kirkstall 14 Festival 2008 15 Letters and emails 19 Local Scouts 20 Advice and Information 21 Things to do 22 Otters on the Aire 23 Mill history uncovered 25 BMX in Batcliffe Wood 26 Horsforth life 27 Leeds Museum 28 Birds of Prey 29 Future of local mills? 30 Abbey House/Museum 32 Activities 33 Joint Service Centre 34 Index of Advertisers 36

Rita Samuel KVCA

Treasurer

Kirkstall Valley

Community Association

Officers


What’s On...

KIRKSTALL VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION General meetings are at 8 pm in Milford Sports Club, usually on the 1st Thursday of each month (except May, Aug & Dec). All are welcome. Officers Honorary Vice President: Marjorie Kilby Chair: John Liversedge Tel. 0113 278 5987 Vice Chair: Steve Gradys Treasurer: Rita Samuel Secretary: Ken Stratford Tel. 0113 275 5413

2009 KIRKSTALL FESTIVAL Saturday 11th July, 2009 Chair: John Liversedge tel. 278 5987

Stall Bookings: Roger Moran: mobile 07802 922513 tel. 226 8098 76 Kirkstall Lane, Leeds LS5 3JV

KIRKSTALL LEISURE CENTRE Kirkstall Lane Open 8:30am to 10:30pm. Bookings Tel. 214 4555 Special activities for children during school holidays

KIRKSTALL ABBEY TENNIS CLUB Jessica Fischer Tel: 07711 646991, email: jessica.fischer @ntlworld.com

ABBEY HOUSE MUSEUM Opening times: Monday closed all day Tues to Friday 10am - 5pm, Saturday 12noon - 5pm Sunday 10am - 5pm Admission charges Adults £3.50, Children £1.50 (16 and under) Concessions £2.50 (senior citizens and students) Family ticket £5 (2 adults and up to 3 children) The Refectory: Licensed restaurant / café (accessible without museum entry).

ABBEY - GUIDED TOURS see page 35 Contact Abbey House Museum for details. Tel. 230 5492 ABBEY - VISITORS’ CENTRE admission free Open 11am - 3pm Tues-Sun Closed Mondays except Bank Holiday Mondays Tel. 0113 274 8041

ABBEY LIGHT RAILWAY Trains from Bridge Road run at frequent intervals along to Kirkstall Abbey (and vice-versa) on Sundays from 1 pm to dusk (weather permitting)

BURLEY LODGE COMMUNITY CENTRE Burley Lodge Road LS6 1QF Tel. 275 4142 Community Projects: Office Open Mon-Fri 9.30am - 5.00pm

BRAMLEY COMMUNITY CENTRE Waterloo Lane Tel. 255 2227 Mon-Thurs. 10am-4pm Fri 10am-3pm Evening appointments for Counselling. West Leeds Community Drug Project - with Support, Outreach, Group Work & Crèche

CARDIGAN CENTRE 145-149 Cardigan Road Resource Centre 9am to 8pm Mon-Fri. Tel. 275 9282 Youth Point; ‘Active for Life’ Healthy Living Project; Older Active People Scheme; Handy Person Scheme

FORUM 2000 Town Street, Horsforth see page 38

HAWKSWORTH CENTRE Broadway, Leeds LS5 3BQ T. 0113 258 4507 / 0845 0457275 [email protected] www.parklane.ac.uk

HAWKSWORTH WOOD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION Details - see page 39

HAWKSWORTH WOOD COMMUNITY SHOP 8 Broadway. Monday to Fridays 9 am to 3.30 pm.

HAWKSWORTH WOOD YMCA Lea Farm Mount Tel. 216 2970. Free ‘Connexions’ Access Point - Mon - Thursday 3pm - 4pm and Fridays 6-8pm Lunch Club (age 50+) Fridays 11.30am - 1.30pm Parent &Toddler group, Thursdays 9.30 - 11.30am. Park Lane College Courses, Tues - Thurs (Term time) Activity groups in Sports, Drama, Dance, Martial Arts etc.

HOLLYBUSH CONSERVATION CENTRE Broad Lane. Tel 274 2335 see page 28

JAZZ BAND CLUB at the Merry Monk, Kirkstall Hill. Tel: 275 9403 Fridays from 9pm - its free !

MILFORD SPORTS CLUB Tel 226 3030 see page 41

POVERTY AID UK Collection Warehouse & Charity Shop, 165 Cardigan Road. Tel 274 4099/ 274 6349

ST MARY’S CHURCH HALL Bingo Tuesdays at 8 pm (Doors Open at 6.30pm) Indoor Bowling Thursdays and Fridays,1pm to 4pm Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Hall Hire - Tel. 258 2923

ST STEPHEN’S CHURCH Sunday Services: 8:45am. Holy Communion. 10am.Parish Communion 4pm Evensong, (Said) Midweek Holy Communion: Wednesdays at 11am. Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Rainbows, Brownies, Guides. Contact: Revd Rosemarie Hayes, Tel. 258 2481 email: [email protected]

VESPER GATE HOTEL Tel. 220 0961 Abbey Road. Every Wednesday 'Family Fortunes' Quiz 9.30pm-11pm.

WEST END HOUSE - Food & Ale Tel. 278 6332 Quiz Nights every Tues & Thursday at 9pm see page 41

WEST PARK UNITED REFORMED CHURCH Spen Lane, Sunday Service 10.30am Contact : Church Secretary 225 9637


KVCA News… Chairman reflects on another year

Another year…. Well, the 28th annual Kirkstall Festival is over and I think it all went very well. We did have some problems to sort out through the year of planning and of course this year again the weather was going to be a key factor for us on the day. As it turned out we solved all the problems and once again we were lucky with the weather. It was like last year, rain all day on the Friday we were setting up the grounds and everyone was soaked all day. We thought we were going to be short of staff for setting up the grounds but we had extra help from Amit Roy and Unity Day, they were also there to help us on Festival day. They are a great bunch of people. Its hard work and unpaid, you are on your feet from early morning till late in the evening. You stand around for long periods wondering what to do next, then there is a flurry of work and more standing around getting wet. It's funny how you stand under trees for shelter even though you can see the water pouring through the trees!! We did have minor problems on the day, found children, lost parents, the odd injury etc., but everything really did go very well. In the programme I always do a ‘thank you' list and we do have a lot of people to thank. As a committee of fourteen people each with responsibilities for different sections of the festival, lots of other people are also pestered for assistance, ranging from different departments of the council, schools, police, in fact anyone who we think can help us and it won't cost us anything. The festival seems to get bigger and more expensive to put on every year and we are al-ways looking for new ideas to improve or find a new attraction. This year we did our own free car park, it was a great success, it did have a few problems but we will sort them out for next year. We have already one or two ideas in the pipe-line for new items for the 29th festival in 2009.

As Chairperson of the festival committee I am always amazed at how well things come together on the day. There are so many minor details to attend to if things are to go well, the planning of the festival begins in September and we meet once a month. It's like a jig saw being pieced together and then before you know it it's the end of June, e-mails, phone calls, calling at each others houses, frustration and perhaps a small amount of panic on my part. Our committee are so laid back, I worry and natter them, they just smile and get on with it, I could kill them. Anyone who came to the festival this year must have been impressed by the amount of attractions and events going on all day in the Abbey grounds, there was something for everyone, even a church service! As a community festival run by volunteers I think the Kirkstall Festival takes some beat-ing, yes our meetings resemble Dibly Parish Council but like them we get there in the end. No, No, No, YES! John Liversedge Festival Committee KVCA Chairman

Kirkstall Online is a community resource and information website centre for the residents of Kirkstall and those with an interest in the area.

♦ News ♦ Web space ♦ Local Photographs ♦ Discussion Board

www.kirkstall.org.uk

Matthew Guy (left) moved to Canada some time ago, but still manages the website from there. Please send local news, views and pictures to: [email protected]


Issues Matter … Shakespeare to be or not to be?Editorial Comment:

Kirkstall Abbey loses 2008 treasure - We need to make sure it’s back in 2009!

Since coming to live in Kirkstall in 1996, the Shake-spear Festival at the Abbey in the Summer has been, for me, a feature of the year’s calendar and something to look forward to. Kirkstall has a reputation in past his-tory for things like the Forge and the Abbey - associations called up in the mind by mention of the name of where we live. In the last 28 years we have added our own Community Fes-tival to those associations. But the Shakespeare Festival too became thus. If someone in China Googles ‘Kirkstall’, it features in the refer-ences they come up with. Shake-speare and Kirkstall go together. In the atmospheric setting of the Ab-bey Cloisters, the open-air productions by the British Shakespeare Company were a jewel in the crown in-deed. There was however no Festival this year. Charges that the Leeds City Council wanted to levy meant that it was tens of thousands of pounds short of being viable. We reproduce the exchange between Councillor Proctor and Robert Williamson on this on the next page. We know from our experience as an organisation that runs a mass event with our own Community Festival, and use the whole of the Abbey Grounds - for ten thou-sand people, making use of the Council’s licence and complying with all the Health and Safety Executive’s Event Management Regulations - Councillor Proctor is talking tosh! We as a community were too slow to react on this one. It is not however too late to get the Festival

“This is excellent news for the BSC as it marks the local support of what will be the 14th year this event has been running.

We will still have to pay the Leeds City Council around £20,000 to be allowed to put on the event. This just hires us the grass area at the abbey and we have to add all other facilities. So we do need further donations and support for the event.

We are offering a Free children’s day for the festival to encourage young people to attend and enjoy the show and to demonstrate how much Shakespeare is at the heart of our culture. We are still contacting local busi-nesses and larger corporations for financial support and sponsorship as the running costs and recent addi-tion of hire fees are forever increasing. Please contact us you are able to offer support or have any recommen-dations of people to contact who you think may be able to help.”

We should extend an invitation to Robert Williamson to come to a meeting of the KVCA, so that we can discuss how local residents can campaign to support the return of the Festival and bring maximum local pressure to bear to ensure that this disgrace is undone. Ken Stratford (Images on this page from BSC Website)

The people of West Sussex got the BSC production this year. Why not the people of Leeds, Councillor Proctor?

back. We understand that the Yorkshire Evening Post has offered to sponsor the 2009 Festival . The British Shakespeare Company commented:

IN THE WORDS

OF THE SONG

“You Don’t

Know what You’ve Got ‘till Its gone”


Shakespeare Festival (contd.) The following exchange is reproduced from: www.britishshakespeare.com

The British Shakespeare Company made the following response:

“In response, it must be pointed out that we have never, in 13 years, had any health, safety or security problems. The ‘stripped down performance’ referred to in the Council’s email, was a reference to our offer of only doing one show this year (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) rather than our usual 2 shows. The quality of the work would have been to our usual high standards. It is completely untrue that if the festival is performed on the council license they are person-ally responsible for the event.

The festival brings work to many local businesses in and around Leeds. All design / marketing / printing (posters, pro-grammes, banners and leaflets) is done in Leeds. Leeds’ hotels, cafés, restaurants, pubs and shops have benefitted from 20 cast and crew being in Leeds for a whole month as well as thousands of visitors for the Festival. We know supporters visit from as far away as Canada, and in doing so stayed at Leeds’ hotels, dined in Leeds’ restaurants and spent money in Leeds’ shops. There is of course the cultural benefit of a month long Shakespeare Festival attended by all ages and backgrounds.

In 13 years we have never received financial support from Leeds Council, the Arts Council or the Lottery. The cost of staging the festival has risen dramatically in recent years and without a major sponsor and Council backing, this year’s event simply cannot proceed. We are keen to work with the Council to bring The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing (or A Midsummer Night’s Dream) to the Leeds Shakespeare Festival in 2009 and would welcome your posi-tive emails to Councillor John Proctor requesting Council support. We need to get a commitment from the Council for 2009 as soon as possible.

I do feel that I have let the people of Leeds down, in failing to negotiate a Festival for 2008. I wish to thank you, our supporters, for the many messages of support that we have received. I want to publicly thank Councillor Bernard Atha OBE, a dedicated and tireless public servant that has always been on hand to offer support and without whom the event would not have been realized for so many years. Also Kirkstall ward Councillor Lucinda Yeadon for trying to convince the powers that be not to stop the event.

We are available to talk to the council at any time about the future of the festival but at present we are unable to get any response to our requests for a meeting. Please send any messages of support for the event to Councillor John Proc-ter at [email protected] although they will only now respond with a form e-mails and the e-mails will not be read. I know this as we sent an enquiry from a member of my staff and they just sent back the form e-mail as they had not read it. So I would propose writing to the Yorkshire Post Newspapers - Evening Post address is [email protected] and Yorkshire Post Editor is [email protected] .This support is essential if the event is to continue.

Thank You, RJW

Dated: 15 July 2008. “After a number of meetings with Leeds City Council over several months, discussing various possibilities of Council support for the 14th Leeds Shakespeare Festival and including a verbal offer by us to hire the venue for 2 weeks in August, we have sadly to announce that there will not be a Leeds Shakespeare Festival in 2008. We received a polite email from the Council at 5pm today:”:

“Robert, After a series of lengthy consultations with my officers this week I have come to the conclusion that it is simply too late in the day to put on an event of the calibre you are usually associated with this year. Notwith-standing the financial difficulties you are having, there are still very serious health and safety as well as security concerns associated with the event you propose. As any event would utilise the Events Licence that is held by offi-cers within the council, which in turn makes them personally liable, I am sure you can understand my concerns. There is also the significant risk posed to the professional reputation of both the British Shakespeare Company and Leeds City Council on putting on a very much stripped down performance. I would stress that this is a final deci-sion but I can assure you that this has been given detailed consideration over a number of months. I am still open to discussion with regards to future events.”

Kind regards JOHN, Councillor John Procter, Executive Member for Leisure, Conservative Group Whip, Wetherby Ward


Issues Matter … Flood Defences are they trouble?

Come friendly floods… (With apologies to John Betjeman)

Come friendly floods and flush away, Those men who have no time for play, Who do not care what people say. (Just bottom lines.) Please wash away their stinking schemes, To lease our land and sell our dreams, For profiled roofs and plastic beams. (Approved designs.) With no consultants left to hire, Let’s hear them gurgle in the mire, No offshore hedge when they retire. Somebody knows! The hydrostatic situation, Puts profiteers in liquidation, And normal folk in jubilation.

Current advice from the Environment Agency is that global warming will increase the frequency of flooding and add about 50cm to peak river levels in the medium term. From a Kirkstall viewpoint, flooding is a useful feature. Floods have created fertile growing land along the valley bottom, and have also kept the Kirkstall riverside largely free from speculative devel-opment. Long may it remain so!

We have opportunities in Kirkstall to use the valley for leisure activities: canoeing, fishing, cycling and walking for instance, and watching the increasing range of wildlife that is gradually returning to the area. River water quality is much improved, and the elimination of persistent organochlorine and pyre-thrum insecticides has increased the variety of invertebrates and fish. We could have wild salmon at Kirkstall Abbey for the first time in 150 years if we had some fish ladders on the weirs. I recently moved a council resolution to expedite this process, which received all-party support.

Fish attract other visitors including herons and kingfishers which are often seen on the river, together with feral mink. Mink are an alien species and bad news for water voles, but they are now well established in the UK. A recent report for the Environment Agency says that otters are also returning to our area. They mark their territories with smelly droppings and there are proven otter holts and resting places in Kirkstall. Otters are a rare and highly protected species, so unfortu-nately we are not allowed to publish the exact locations where they can be found.

It is far from clear who will pay for this. I would strongly oppose using tax revenues to bail out property developers who have stupidly picked the wrong site. There are five serious problems with major flood defence schemes:

They can look hideous, especially in confined locations. They are extremely expensive: £75million for Leeds, and rising. The engineering works are complex and would take many years to build. Surplus water does not disappear, and defending one area usually means that adjacent areas flood instead. Having invested heavily in flood defences, there would be constant pressure to fully exploit any defended land, and build right up to the edge of the defences. This would ruin the appearance of Leeds, making it an un-pleasant place to live in.

LFAS includes new flood defences in Kirkstall. Some of these are unlikely to be effective, and many are not in our local interest. I urge residents to oppose these measures when public consultation starts in No-vember / December 2008:

• Flood defences around the BHS site will be raised by the developer as part of their recent planning consent.

• New defences will be constructed for the railway near Bridge Road. Previously this line flooded only rarely, but the track was excavated during electrification to accommodate overhead power cables through the bridge.

• Existing riverside flood defences will be abandoned below Bridge Road, allowing the rugby pitches to flood occasionally, and instead the new flood bund near Morrisons car park will be increased in height. Continued page 9

By KIRKSTALL WARD COUNCILLOR, John Illingworth Some issues of concern regarding proposed Kirkstall flood defences.


Planning Matters...

• New flood defences will be constructed at St Ann’s Mills.

• New defences will be constructed at Burley Mills and continued along the riverside to protect the Car-digan Fields leisure development, the Kirkstall Road industrial estate, and the proposed develop-ments on the former ARLA Foods and Yorkshire Chemicals sites.

The Environment Agency argues that these works are necessary because there is insufficient floodplain storage in the upper Aire catchment, and many tributaries enter the river below the obvious storage sites. This may be true, but no study has properly examined distributed flood storage along the Aire Valley, pull-ing development back from the river and allowing the valley floor to flood where necessary to protect the centre of Leeds. This could create new wetland habitats and increase the supply of recreational land. This may well be cheaper, more resilient and more environmentally benign than “high tech” engineering solu-tions near Leeds city centre.

These are complex issues, and there is a fuller account, with coloured maps and diagrams on the Kirkstall councillors’ website http://www.kirkstallward.net/floods

Lamp Post Advertising on Savins Mills Way There have been various ideas for selling lamp-post advertising put forward in recent times, includ-ing for illuminated adverts aimed at passing traffic. Despite the fact that the Councillors in Inner North West Leeds have opposed the general idea in this area, the Council seem to be pursuing the issue. Applications have gone in for adverts on main thor-oughfares, including Savins Mill Way. I quote from an objection that has been put in by one of our lo-cal councillors, referring to siting: “near the main Kirkstall Road junctions along the A65 …. these areas have a poor road safety re-cord, they are listed as both sites for concern and as lengths for concern, and it is council policy to not locate or approve street lamp advertisements in such areas. These junctions are presently being re-aligned in an attempt to address their poor safety record, and the effect of such re-alignment will be to throw even more traffic onto Savins Mill Way.” The same Council that is considering the siting of these advertisements on busy main roads is the one that threatened the Kirkstall Festival with prosecution over a few A3 sized posters on lamp-posts, advertising the Festival (on the grounds that they were dangerous because they would distract drivers). Or is the danger and distraction less when the ads are big and illuminated– and a buck or two is to be made out of it? Let us know what you think.

Council to Dump Waste in Kirk-stall? Another one to watch this. We hear that in connec-tion with the Council wanting to dispose of house-hold waste by incineration, there is thinking that a waste transfer station be opened just off Kirkstall Road, near the leisure complex. This would be a holding dump for burnable household waste, in-cluding food. The mind boggles. Piles of rotting and stinking waste being stockpiled in a built-up, resi-dential area, being taken in for holding and then out for incineration—presumably by a steady stream of large vehicles. Three words: smell, flies, rats. Would the Council dream of doing this in the leafy outer fringe of the City? More needs to be found out here.

West Park Centre to be sold off? It may be me, but I thought I dreamed that the Copuncil had listed a whole load of assets city-wide that it is seeking to sell-off. Has no-one told them that the property market (including commer-cial) is not exactly at a high point at the moment? There is concern amongst residents groups at the northern end of Kirkstall Ward about the possibility of the West Park Centre being sold off. KVCA would urge all readers to support them in resisting any such sale. We are told that the Council can’t provide proper youth services in the ward, because of the ‘lack of public buildings’ - so why sell the only one we have? Ken Stratford

… Flood defences article (continued from previous page)


Schools Matter : Hawksworth Wood Primary

On Friday 7th November, Hawksworth Wood Primary School supported “11 Million Take-over Day” to give pupils the opportunity to “takeover” an aspect of daily school life. Every child in the school was involved in some way from writing the date on the board to be-ing headteacher for the day! Children worked in the office, as teaching assistants or lunch-time supervisors, a group of pupils even re-viewed the Teaching and Learning Policy.

The day was a wonderful opportunity for chil-dren to make a positive contribution to the whole school community, to view the school from a different angle, to develop leadership skills and to engage in decision making.

Everyone in the school embraced the spirit of the day and had a great deal of fun. Needless to say, the children have asked if they can have a “takeover” day every week – maybe next year !

Levi Dart O’Reilly, headteacher for the day, receives an early morning briefing on his senior management duties

from headteacher Ms Andrea Padden.

Ruby Ellis Shaw works as a teaching assistant in re-ception class helping Nevaeh Dicker with her numbers.

Levi Dart O’Reilly awards Ola Figas with her Good Worker Certificate during Family Assembly.

“ It was an amazing opportunity to do adults’ jobs! My role was to review the Teaching and Learning Policy with Mrs Padden. It was good to talk about the policy and change some of it for the better” Adam Lidgard “My role was to be a teaching assistant in Recep-tion Class and it was brilliant. I always wanted to be a teacher, it was the best day of my life, it was lots of fun!!!” Courtney Agar

Quotes from the children: “It was exciting and fun because I got to work in the office. I got to check the register to see if anyone had come in late or was poorly. When James came in late I had to get the book and write his name down, then give him a late card to show his teacher that he had been to the office first. It was nerve wracking but I managed to do it!” Paige Emmonds

11 MILLION TAKEOVER DAY


Schools Matter ... Hawksworth Wood

Mrs Suzanne Kelsey, Administrative Assitant, shows Paige Emmonds and Brandon Atkinson how to check the

registration sheets.

Quotes from the children: “My role was to be a teaching assis-tant in Reception Class and it was brilliant. I always wanted to be a teacher, it was the best day of my life, it was lots of fun!!!”

Courtney Agar “My role was a teaching assistant in Year 3. It was fantastic being with the brilliant little ones, their reading really impressed me. I’d like to do that as my job when I get older”

Jordan Cathro

On Wednesday, 22nd October a team from HBOS came into school to carry out some work in the school quad. Our polytunnel, which has been used for several years to help us grow our own vegetables, was in need of repair and a generous grant from HBOS allowed us to buy some new staging and raised beds for the polytunnel, as well as some edging to make our existing vegetable plots in the school garden easier for the children to use. The plums harvested from our plum trees have been sold on the fruit trolley at play-times and the gardening and healthy eating clubs have used some of the vegetables to make garlic bread and vegetable soup.

October: HBOS Volunteers

help school with fruit and veg gardening

SATS RESULTS 2008 Let’s celebrate!!

Hawksworth Wood Primary School achieved its best ever SATS scores this year Mathematics Level 4 and above 93%

English Level 4 and above 89% Science Level 4 and above 74%

If you are interested in a place for your child and would like to look around school, contact Ms Padden on Leeds 2583984


Beecroft Primary School … Sunflowers

Pupils at Beecroft Primary School raised £110.50 in the Green Fingers ‘Sponsor a Sunflower, Challenge, helping to create Magical Gardens for Children’s Hospices. Children planted and cared for their own sunflowers and several pupils wrote descriptions of the flowers when they were fully grown. Below are pictures of our sunflowers and extracts taken from the work of Year 4 pupils.

“As the towering sunflower is growing inch by inch, the head of the flower slowly traces the path of the sun. Together the petals make a golden crown around the flower. Each petal is bright and perfectly formed. The golden shimmering flowers are swaying in the wind whilst the burst-ing buds are waiting to pop out like a jack-in-a-box.”

E. Dawson (aged 8)

“Beautiful, beaming buds are ready to open. The leaves are as intricate as a tapestry. However, it will not be long until autumn is here and the sunflowers return to the ground.”

K. Mason (aged 8)

“Intricate, emerald green leaves are sun-bathing happily under the bright, blaz-ing sun. The golden yellow petals are shields to the pool of pollen. As they grow higher, they tower up tall to peer inside the ICT suite.”

L. O’Flahery (aged 8)


Kirkstall People … KVCA founder made Alderman

Liz Minkin: an appreciation

Former Local Labour Councillor... The Best Lord Mayor we never had... Fervent Campaigner for Kirkstall Matters... Now an Alderman of the City of Leeds What can you say, if anything, about Liz Minkin without making her really blush with embarrassment - probably nothing! I have known Liz since the early 1980’s and really got to know her as she became an active member of the then Kirkstall Village Community Association (later to become the Kirkstall Valley Community Association) and an extremely active mem-ber of the Kirkstall Branch Labour Party - eventually gaining a place on the Leeds City Council to represent the people of Kirkstall. Little did we know then of her future meteoric rise to fame (and some may say for-tune) in local politics and community issues concerning the length of the Kirkstall Valley. Liz has been a very well respected and devoted councillor for Kirkstall; pursuing, developing and protecting the interests and well-being of the Kirkstall residents. Along with Bernard Atha and John Illingworth, she formed a very strong, loyal and determined team of councillors, which has spanned more than twenty years. Strengthening her position on Leeds City Council, she served on a wide variety of committees with an intensity and dedication that few could match. Liz became, as was well documented, the best Lord Mayor that we never had!! She was, however, made an Alderman of the City of Leeds when she finally stood down from Leeds City Council this year. Ken Waterworth

My first memories of Liz Minkin are from the very start of the Kirkstall Village Community Association. Liz and her husband at the time, David St. David-Smith, were part of a very young and enthusiastic group of people who, together with a significant few older people of Kirkstall, set out to make favourable improve-ments to Kirkstall; to enhance the area; encourage local people to take part in events and projects aimed at putting Kirkstall firmly back on the map of Leeds. These were very happy days. Liz was right at the very forefront of the many events that we organised and always ready to act on behalf of our close knit community - a task that she continued, when duly elected as one of our very deeply committed city councillors. How lucky we were to get Liz on board! You have our love, respect and very good wishes as you move on to new challenges.

Good luck and thank you......ELIZABETH MARY MINKI N Pat Oddy

Liz Minkin, with Council colleagues, John Illingworth and Bernard Atha, in the grounds of Kirkstall Abbey.

It has been a pleasure to serve alongside Liz Minkin for the past twenty years. No one was more deter-mined to look after the interests of her constituents, preserve the best of old Kirkstall and to ensure that the new met her high standards. She earned herself a national reputation in the field of town planning much as her other colleague John Illingworth has. Kirkstall has been blessed by a succession of three outstanding women representatives, Liz Nash, Liz Minkin and now Lucinda Yeadon. I deeply regretted Liz's decision not to stand for a further period but equally deeply appreciated the comradeship and mutual support of a dear friend over two decades. I am delighted she remains to keep an eye on things by agreeing to be the chair of the Kirkstall Vision Exercise. Bernard Atha


Vision for Kirkstall ... Vision Group carrying things forward.

Work to produce a Vision Statement is on-going with questionnaire and consultation events.

Work has been continuing over the summer on the Kirkstall Vision. The Kirkstall Festival was an occasion to consult a large number of local people and the group shared a marquee with the Kirkstall Valley Park there.

KVCA members will have received a copy of a Kirkstall Vision with the magazine last time and others may have got a questionnaire through your door asking you questions about what you like about living in Kirkstall, what you would like to change and what you would like to see here in the future.

It is really important that as many people as possible fill in the questionnaire and send it to the freepost address on the back - we want to ensure that the views of all the communities in Kirkstall are represented.

If you would like to fill in a questionnaire but have not received one please contact Sarah Charlton on [email protected] or 395 2831. Work on the Kirkstall Vision is being carried out by a group of volunteers.

Everyone is welcome to come along to meet-ings which are held in Milford Club on Bee-croft Street.

If you would like to know the dates of future meetings please contact Sarah on the details above. A series of local consultation events have been held in Kirkstall Ward through the autumn to gather more views about Kirkstall.

Festival goers Checking out the Kirkstall Vision Marquee on 12th July

Complete with giant 3D map.


Kirkstall Festival 2008 …. Starts with the Procession


“Kirkstall Festival. Isn’t that organised by the Council?”

Well, no actually it isn’t but this is a common ques-tion we hear every year and something that we try hard to get across to the many thousands of people who enjoy the Festival year on year. In fact, the Fes-tival is organised by a dedicated group of around 15 volunteers who meet all year round, along with quite a few more willing helpers on the day itself. But what do these volun-teers actually do? Well, to give you a taste of what it takes to be in-volved in one of the country’s most success-ful community run festi-vals, here is an account of my role on t’Commit-tee! I’m the grants person, the financier, the person who tries to ensure that we have some money coming into the coffers well before the festival day itself. My job starts in September, ie now, when I try to identify the grants that we can apply for. This in-volves seeing what criteria the grant providers set and hoping that we can fit them! Once I have an idea of who we can apply to, the task of filling in the application forms begin. Some have been relatively easy to complete, 2 sides of A4 paper and a copy of our accounts was one of the easiest I did but I have also had to fill in 14 pages and be submitted to an hour’s long interview on the phone! But I was suc

cessful with both applications. And I have to confess it is like winning the lottery when the letter arrives to say we have been successful and we will be getting the money. Of course, not every application does result in a success and that can be disheartening.

Most of the grants require reports to be submitted after the event so I have to keep a record of how the money is spent, who takes part in the activities we put on with the grant money, how the event is man-aged etc etc. This is as important as the application itself as grant providers obvi-ously want to know how their money has been used. And then, well it all starts again for the next year’s Festival! So why do I do it, why does any of the committee do it? Well for myself I have been involved with Kirkstall Festival

since 1993 when in a rash moment at a meeting I raised my hand and asked the fatal question, “And what would that entail?” That was it, an expression of interest and I was on the Committee. Over 15 years later, I have no regrets about joining the committee. I have learnt new skills that have helped me in my “proper” job; I have met and made new friends; I have been a part of a very successful group of people with loads of talent and I have attended some of the most hilarious committee meetings ever! ‘The Financier’ (Catherine Simpson is our volunteer fund-raiser extraordinaire).

She got involved and made the Festival a success!

Why don’t you give it a try?

Next year’s Festival is on 11th July

Interested in volunteering?

Find out more?

Email: [email protected] Or ring:

John on 0113 278 5987 Ken on 0113 275 5413


Fesival ‘08 …. Something for everyone

I would like to personally thank all of the stallholders who supported this year’s Festival. Many of those present will not see this magazine as we have regu-lar visitors from all over Yorkshire. We had problems in some areas this and last year with the mud but overall with a bit of moving around of stalls and a few bags of bark chip, hopefully for you, we got it sorted. Is this a record of most appearances at the Festival? Mary Wing has attended the last 27 Festivals as a stall holder supporting the PDSA. Congratulations Mary. Can anyone on the Committee, or any other stallholder, better that? Without the support of you, the stallholders, the event would not be as interesting as it is now. Every year we get new attractions and we would love to see even more craft stalls to add to the diversity of the event. To conclude, this is your Festival: what would you like to see to enhance the variety of side stalls? It has been suggested that we could have a farmers market. What else? If you have any ideas, that we as a Com-mittee can consider, then please let us know. Our contact details are ‘[email protected]’. Please get in touch with your views.

A Thank You to Stallholders …. from Roger Moran

Roger Moran is the volunteer who arranges and co-ordinates more than 100 groups and stallholder on the

day. Seen above in action.


More Festival 08 …. Marvellous Tea Dance

The Famous 'Marvellous Tea Dance Co' teamed up with 'Older Active People' in order to host A Marvel-lous Tea dance that promotes fun and laughter for all generation. And fun was certainly had. Live music by the won-derful Love Sick Cowboys and classic 1940s-50s tunes by DJ Honey Dripper was enjoyed by all and the dance floor was a mass of spinning couples. The Marvellous Tea Dance ladies Angie and Donna had a wonderful day. It was great to have a whole marquee to themselves to decorate in their Marvel-lous kitsch trade mark style. As always delicious home made cakes and cups of tea were served on dainty china tea sets and yards of vin-tage bunting blew in the wind. A Marvellous day was had by all.

Angie and Donna hope to be invited back next year and want to thank all those involved in the set-up and all those who came along and made the day special.

With multiple performance areas including the Cloisters, Nave and two covered stages the Festival offered a wide variety of music,

dancing and other entertainment.


Inbox…. From your letters and Emails

1.Bad form to turn down the bard 2. I do not believe a city the size of Leeds can afford to turn down such a wonderful attraction as the Shake-speare festival. For years now we have had a summer programme for the Kirkstall Abbey grounds – Kirkstall Community Festival, Shakespeare Festival and to finish off Fantasia. 3.Could you see cities like Sheffield or Manchester turn-ing away such wonderful entertainment held in the beau-tiful grounds of an ancient Abbey? I think not. 4.No wonder we in Leeds are so far behind other cities when it comes to live entertainment (still no concert hall) our council members should be ashamed of themselves. 5.Leeds, capital of Yorkshire, do me a favour!

John Liversedge

The team did it again this summer – another superb fes-tival with thousands of local families enjoying a great day out. Whether it's live music, the sports tournaments, the bargains you can pick up or the delicious food to sample – the Kirkstall Festival has something for everyone. Af-ter a few hours selling jam on the Labour Party stall, I made the most of the day, picking up some second hand book bargains, plants for the garden and food from Hansa's for lunch. I rounded off my day at the church service – singing Jerusalem and imagining what the Ab-bey must have been like in the twelfth century. The Gods do seem to shine on Kirkstall. Despite raining for most of the summer, the sun shone for the Kirkstall Festival and again for Classical Fantasia which I went along to last weekend. From my house on Vesper Road I could hear the Northern Ballet Theatre practicing in the afternoon sunshine. When the sun went in and the con-cert began, there couldn't have been a better night for music and fireworks. The Abbey is the focal point of the Kirkstall Community and the opportunity to get together for an evening's en-tertainment is fantastic. We were treated to some bril-liant music, the high point for me, was Sasha Volpov's cello solo in Saint-Saens Allegro appassionato. With a glass of wine in one hand and surrounded by friends and neighbours, against the backdrop of the Abbey, who could ask for a more perfect evening? On a more day-to-day focus, following on from a cam-paign led by the local community, Hawksworth Wood Community Association, school and councillors, there are now plans to make Hawksworth Wood a twenty mile per hour zone. We think this is really good news for the local community – especially around the school and to crack down on rat-running. But, to make sure the plans work, we need your input – the best intentions do not always deliver the best schemes! So, if you live in the area, please do contact the councillors or me with your comments and ideas. Rachel Reeves Prospective Parliamentary Candidate in Leeds West

Good morning ! I am very new to internet and pc's in general so please bear with me re any mistakes ! Not sure whether I owe any subs as got out of sinc last time so would appreciate an update, thank you ! - also would like to say how very much I enjoy reading Kirk-stall Matters. As a lifetime Burley 'girl' it brings back many. happy memories and I would like to say a big thank you to all your team for their hard work in producing it. Signing off now and looking forward to reading Issue 97 accompanied by a large mug of rosie-lee ! hope you are enjoying this lovely day ! Norma Bell

To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 My name is Barry Higginbottom and my mother was born in Kirkstall her maiden name was Pemberton . My grand parents lived on station parade. I can remember getting off the 45 bus and running down the back street to my grand parents house and my mother shouting "be careful ".I must have been only 4 or maybe five then. Of course I’m a lot older now ,well just about 70,but I can still see the house as though it was yesterday. Also I married a girl from Kirkstall, Marjorie Richardson we’ve been married for 50 years next year . We live in Western Australia -Perth .So you see Kirkstall has a strong link with us although we’ve been out here 38 years. Our friends over here are from Kirkstall too.. Myself I was born on Wyther Park estate and went to Armley park school. Best regards

Barry Higginbottom

New Email

Address for Kirkstall Matters

Is [email protected]


Local Scouts’ Activity Report The Scout Movement is for young people from the age 6 upwards - and for boys and girls. There are 2 Scout Groups in the Kirkstall area, one based at St Stephens' Church in Kirkstall, the other is based at St Mary's Church, Hawksworth Wood. Each Group runs Beavers Scouts (for the 6 - 8 year olds); Cub Scouts (for the 8 - 10 1/2 year olds) and Scouts (for 10 1/2 - 14 + year olds). The Scout District provides an Explorer Scout Unit for young people over 14 1/2 Each section is led by trained Leaders who have been CRB checked, and hold a current First Aid qualification.

The 5th North Leeds (St Stephen's) meets at the St Stephens Church Hall, Norman Street, Leeds 5. Bea-ver Scouts meet on Tuesdays at 5.30pm, Cubs meet on Fridays at 5.45pm, Scouts meet on Fridays at 715pm. Full details can be obtained from Laurie on (0113)2259234 Mob: 07798 730917: e-mail [email protected]

The 43rd North Leeds (Phoenix St Mary's) meets at the St Mary's Church Hall, Hawkswood Crescent, Leeds 5. Beaver Scouts and Cubs meet on Wednesday evenings at 6.30pm, Scouts meet on Friday at 7.00pm. Details from Richard on (0113) 2673325: email [email protected]

St Stephen's Scout Group news

The Scout Troop had a long weekend at Bramhope campsite in July and took part in a variety of activities on the site including archery and the assault course. In September

a number of Scouts took part in the District’s water activities at Aldwark where they had the chance to ca-noe and build a raft. Future plans for the Scouts include a joint meeting with the Phoenix St Mary’s Troop, fun and games at Halloween, and a joint winter camp with the St Michael’s Scouts. The Beavers and Cubs programme includes activities with the rest of the District, hopefully including the traditional visit to the pan-tomime!

Phoenix St Mary's Scout Group news

The Group was represented at the Kirkstall Festival, manning an information point about Scouting and the 43rd North Leeds in particular, and early indications are that it was a huge success! An increase in numbers joining the Group has meant that par-

ticularly in the younger sections, we may have to consider a waiting list! If you know anyone who might like to find out what we do, then get in touch sooner rather than later!!

Beavers and the Cubs took part in the Group’s camp at Wike camp site and enjoyed a fine weekend ex-ploring the camp and playing in the river. There have been lots of new members joining these sections and a full programme is being planned for the Autumn months, including a trip to the pantomime!

The Scout section spent one of the days at the Group Camp at ‘Arial Extreme’ - a high level ropes course, and swung through the treetops on walkways, swings, zip wires etc! Several Scouts conquered their fear of heights to have a great day out! Summer camp was held in Northumberland and during the warm and sunny week(!), the Troop walked along part of Hadrian’s Wall, went to the Farne Islands to see the seals and puffins, canoed and built rafts in the river at the camp site. Closer to home, the Troop had a weekend camp at Bramhope in May and spent most of the Saturday playing a variety of wide games on Otley Che-vin, and in Otley. The Troop continued meeting throughout the summer holidays and did a variety of activi-ties for those Scouts who were around - including using a giant potato gun!

Two of the older members of the Group took part with one of the District Explorer Scout Units in a weeks sailing on a tall ship in the English Channel which included a stop over in Cherbourg.

The Autumn programme for the Troop has now been finalised - Narrow boating in October, a weekend in November based at York Youth hostel which will include cycling, and the Winter weekend at Blakedean, a Scout hostel high in the Pennines above Hebden Bridge. This weekend is considered by many as the best weekend of the year and is the venue for the Troop’s Christmas dinner and annual award ceremony. . Other activities in the next 3 months include a ‘Sausage sizzle’ evening, and a night at the theatre for the older Scouts.As with the Beavers and the Cubs, there are still a few places in the Troop and we warmly welcome new members! Richard Frank


Help & Advice...

John Battle MP - Surgeries First Saturday in each month Cow Close Library, Butterbowl Drive - 9.30am Armley Library - 10.30am Bramley Library, Hough Lane - 12 noon Third Saturday in each month St Johns Church, Dixon Lane - 9.30am Kirkstall Housing Office - 10.30am Heights Library, Heights Drive - 11.30am

Contact details: John Battle MP Unit 31 Whingate Business Park

Leeds LS12 3AT tel. 0113 231 0258

[email protected] www.johnbattle-mp.org.uk

Kirkstall Ward Councillors Surgeries

And contact details

Help & advice from your local Councillors: Saturdays 10.30 -11.30am Kirkstall Neighbour-hood Housing Office, 45 Kirkstall Lane LS5 3BE

Thursdays 12.30 Hawksworth Wood Community Centre, 6 Broadway LS5 3PR

Civic Hall tel. 247 4045

Cllr Bernard Atha home tel. 267 2485 [email protected]

Cllr John Illingworth tel. 267 3735

[email protected]

Cllr Lucinda Yeadon tel. 217 7330 [email protected]

The four wards of Inner NW Leeds are Headingley, Hyde Park & Woodhouse, Kirkstall and Weetwood. The twelve councillors make up the Area Committee, of the Council. This meets six times a year. Meetings are open to the public. Do you think you need the streets cleaned more often? Do you think there are enough things for young people to do in your area? Or do you have thoughts about local crime and disorder issues? Area Committees are able to address all these things and more. Area Committees give you the opportunity to have more influence on how services are delivered to your area. Your Area Committee

aims to improve the delivery and co-ordination of local council services, and improve the quality of local decision making. Area Committees give local people a local way of addressing their local priorities. For meeting dates and times and details of Ward Forums, (that report to the Committee) - contact the North West Area Management Team on 0113 395 2826.

Inner North West Area Committee

KVCA, the Kirkstall Festival and Kirkstall Matters, Kirkstall Online and Vision for Kirkstall need more volunteers

Please contact : Ken 275 5413 or John 278 5987 To find out more.


Things to do ...

The Abbey Light Railway was founded in 1976. It is a family run

operation supported by volunteers to restore and

maintain vintage Narrow Gauge locomotives and rolling stock.

Sunday walks! Enjoy short local walks in Kirkstall or at one of Leeds Parks on the first Sunday of each month. Free and open to all ages and all abili-ties! Come and get some fresh air and find out more about your local area (walks no longer than an hour):

ALL SUNDAY WALKS START AT 1pm Hollybush Conservation Centre, Broad Lane, Kirkstall, LS5 3BP. (Buses 38, 91a, 15, 33, 33a, 670, 757 and 760 stop nearby)

For more information please contact: Helen Parsons 0113 230 7060 [email protected]

The Railway is open for visitors every Sunday and bank holidays. The is a quarter-mile ride into the

Abbey Grounds.

The Abbey Light Railway Kirkstall

S.T.E.P

S.T.E.P. is a neighbourhood network scheme that supports people over 60 to live independ-ently in their own homes. We offer advice & information, groups and outings.

We are based at: St Andrew's Church, Butcher HIll, LS16. Tuesdays 10.00am - 11.30am Gentle Exercise class for older people £1.50 per session including refreshments at St Andrews Church, Butcher Hill, LS16 Tel 2757988 for more details.

Thursdays 10.00am - 12.00noon: Drop In Coffee Morning for older people, come and have a cuppa and a chat, make new friends, play a game or win a prize in our weekly raffle.

We're a friendly bunch, come and say hello. Call 2757988 for more details.

Wendy Moore, Coordinator


Otters on the Aire at Kirkstall ...

Floating in Mid Aire It’s interesting how people perceive their local environment. When we live on such a crowded little island there are bound to be lots of negative opinions, especially from those who live in or close to urban areas. Over the last 12 months I’ve had lots of opportunities to talk to local people in Leeds and Bradford about the state of the River Aire and its waterside habitats. We talked about the supposed notoriously mucky section between Leeds and Bradford. Most are pleasantly surprised if not delighted when they find there is such a diversity of wildlife here - roe and fallow deer around Bingley, kingfisher and sand martin at Saltaire and Apperley Bridge, dragonflies and waterfowl at Rodley, crayfish in Meanwood Beck and even the possibility of salmon migrating upstream from Castleford?

The Return of the Otters What has most impressed local folk are the recent surveys commissioned by the Environment Agency showing evidence of a healthy otter population all along this stretch of the Aire Valley even through the centre of Leeds itself.

So, why has there been this apparent sea change? Improving water quality, better managed riverine habitats and a greater awareness of what we have in our own back yards would be the straightforward answer.

American Crayfish Problems Admittedly there are still problems with the River Aire. One of the main issues is the increase of invasive, non-native animal and plant species particu-larly Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed and Gi-ant hogweed that seem to be rapidly expanding their ranges. They are choking out sensitive native wildlife and proving very difficult to control and eradicate. In addition two relatively recent introductions into the river system are a disaster for our native species: the American red-clawed crayfish effectively wiping out its British counterpart and the mink predating on just about anything small and edible along the riverside. Mid-Aire Otters and River Project To address these problems and maintain the River Aire’s advantages, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT ) put a bid into the SITA Trust Enriching Na-ture programme for a brand new 3 year Mid-Aire Ot-ters and River Project aimed at enhancing and pro-tecting otter and river habitats along the middle sec-tion of the Aire Valley river and canal corridor. Fund-ing was secured and a Project Officer put in place to carry out river based habitat improvements along the Aire Valley on 5 sites between Bingley near Bradford to Kirkstall on the outskirts of Leeds City centre. The Project connects this stretch of the River Aire as it runs through old industrial sites, rural communities and more urban centres but with significant lengths of bank side bounded by a mosaic of woodland and meadow to support its variety of wildlife. To enhance and protect this section of river the Project will focus on the main sites, creating a chain of safe and secure habitats which will improve wildlife con-nections and strengthen the ecological network along the river and canal corridor.


Otters Continued ….

33rd Foot

The main Project sites include wetland, meadow and woodland such as Rye-loaf Meadows at Dowley Gap near Bingley, a noted otter ‘hotspot’ and cur-rently owned and managed by Bradford District Metropolitan Council, con-tained in a loop by the river with wet woodland and rough meadow. Plans here are to dig flood channels and scrapes to improve the site for otter and wading birds and create nesting sites for wildlife as diverse as sandmartin, barn owl, and bat species. Other sites in this section include Buck Mills, lying between the canal and river at Thackley near Bradford, where the main issues are water course maintenance and control of Himalayan balsam and Japanese knot-weed. Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve In Leeds the Project will include work on YWT’s Kirkstall Valley NR and with our partners at Rodley NR, a privately managed wetland site located some 5 miles from Leeds City centre. Formerly a Yorkshire Water water treatment site, Rodley is now a patchwork of habitats, including reedbed, wildfowl lagoon, wet meadow, willow coppice and dragonfly ponds. Further wetland will be cre-ated here through excavation and water level management and the biodiversity value of the site extended through creation of otter habitats and installation of nest boxes. An important part of the Project will be the surveying and ongoing monitoring of species and habitats. As well as using existing professionally generated infor-mation, volunteers will learn survey techniques to keep the data up to date and provide ‘eyes and ears’ on the ground. Aire Corridor Strategy The Mid-Aire Project will not be working in isolation but will dovetail into other schemes such as the work being done in the Bradford Aire Valley by the Council Ranger service, the ongoing management by the volunteers at Rodley Nature Reserve, or the workdays at Kirkstalll Valley Nature Reserve by volun-teers from HSBC. All this work points the way towards a longer term integrated

strategy for the whole of the Aire corridor and in turn for the rivers network in West Yorkshire.

Don Vine, YWT Project Officer, Bradford/Dales/Howardian Hills AONB

Look out for signs of otters all the year round.

They do not hibernate. Their trails (footprints & tailprint) may be found in

fresh snow near water.


Mill history uncovered ... I have now located Jonathon Taylor's map of Bramley township in Leeds local history library. The library holds both the finished version and an ear-lier draft, but the engraved date is 1811 not 1812 as stated in the WYAS report. In fact I located a rich seam and found numerous other excellent maps from 1797 to 1850 which I will edit into a proper report. Together they tell a detailed and internally consis-tent story, but Taylor's map settles the issue. I can superimpose the modern digital map onto Taylor's map, from which it is obvious that St Ann's Mill weir is indeed the original pre-1811 structure. It has not been moved or rebuilt. Not only is the weir in exactly the right place, but the washland marked on the 1811 map at the north end of the river island aligns perfectly with the sur-viving flood bund that can still be seen today. This bund joins up perfectly with the revetments on the present weir. There was no point in constructing this bund once the third channel had been cut to create the river island. This must be the original pre-1811 bund, and it must have been dug first. The third channel appears for the first time on Thorp's 1822 map of the West Riding, which also shows St Ann's Mill weir in its present position. This is confirmed in the 1831 edition of the same map. This means that St Ann's Mill weir was recorded in its present position in 1811, 1822, 1831, 1834 (twice), 1846 and 1892. The only omission was from 1851 OS map, where a political boundary was marked instead. All the ancillary hydraulic features were still shown in 1851. None of the other weirs were clearly marked on the 1851 map. They were designated (at most) by a single line. Burley mill weir and penstocks, whose antiquity are undisputed, are also missing from the same map. The dimensions of the eighteenth century buildings at St Ann's Mill, the size of the workforce and the insurance records are all consistent with a copious and reliable water supply. These factors also suggest that St Ann's Mill weir has functioned in its present position for a consid-erable period of time.

St Ann's Mill weir is almost certainly the original structure. It has not been moved or modified in any way. It is at least 200 years old, pre-dating many if not most of the other listed structures in the Kirkstall Valley. It dates, at the very least, from Wellington, Napo-leon and the Peninsular War. It is the centrepiece of the unique hydraulic system developed in the Kirkstall Valley by the Graham family. It merits urgent listing and conservation be-fore the council or its successors permit irreparable damage to the historic record. John Illingworth

In his quest to get listed Status for St Anne’s Mills Our Councillor turns Industrial archaeologist


Dirt Jumps in Batcliffe Wood …. Me and a few friends have been in to all types of cycling over the past 2 decades. I started riding bmx in 1985. There was a bmx track in my mum's village. I didn't have another bmx till 1994 when I was living in York, where we made a few jumps in some woods near the horse race course. In 1995 I moved to Leeds but didn't ride bmx any-more. I got a mountain bike in 1998 and started cross-country riding.

Leeds is a very good place to do this sort of riding. On one of the routes we used to ride we passed a dirt jump site at the side of stairfoot lane in Adel. we would watch people ride there for a year or so and one day thought I would

BMX Bikers Create new local Facility. Lee Mawson writes..

give it a try. It took time to learn to ride these types of places, and some bad crashes (no pain no gain). It was a little scary. The site at Adel was there for over seven years until the council removed it without notice. The next year we rebuilt the site better, it took a little time but it was back and was in use by hundreds of peo-ple. But then, same end. Council came in and knocked it all flat to the ground and didn't offer us a alternative. So in October last year me and a few friends started re-building some stuff up at Batcliffe Woods. We had tried the year before but it got knocked down as well, so since last October we have been building a small loop of jumps that local kids can learn to ride and we all have fun on too. We keep the site clean (litter pick and clear the things that get tipped in there). The part of the wood that we use has about 4 paths running close by but none of the jumps are on paths.

The site is used by hundreds of people, so it would be a shame if the Council remove this free facility that tax-paying people have built in their spare time for free. This keeps kids from hanging around the front of people’s houses and getting in trouble. We have almost stopped people riding

The way these sites work is by being maintained weekly, otherwise the jumps decay with rain and dry spells. It a good healthy pastime and requires discipline for riding and building safe jumps. One pedal on your bike and you can go all the way round the track. with lots of prac-tise. It would be a miscarriage of justice if a few people that walk through the woods that don't like what we do get us shut down, so the minority will rule over the majority again - how is this fair? Surely we could work through any issues that need addressing.

Do you support what Lee and his friends are trying to do here? Why not write to ‘Kirkstall Matters to tell us what you think.


From Horsforth …

Do you have a tall story, anecdote or bit of local folklore to relate? Do you have a story from the past about Kirkstall or its people?

Have you done any family research that you would like to share with us? Would you like to write about a building or place in the local area?

If so, contact Ken Stratford, 76 Morris Lane, LS5 3EN email:[email protected]

Horsforth in Bloom Horsforth gained a Silver in the summer judging of Yorkshire in Bloom and the judges com-mended many aspects of the town’s efforts. The Cornish Flats won a special award but schools, pubs and Newlaithes residential estate also impressed them. The hard work of the Friends of the Burial Ground was recognised and they were congratulated on the interpretation board and “bug hotel.” Sue who is responsible for the plantings in Hall Park and the War memorial, Alan Gray with his huge bulb-planting scheme lead the way but those working for Horsforth in Bloom were particularly pleased that the activities of the com-munity as whole: litter-picking, working in their gardens, schools and churches had paid divi-dends. There were many suggestions for improvements ready for 2009’s judging and these will be acted on. Next year Horsforth has set its sights on a Gold!

We got this by email. We will be asking Emma for an article for next issue, but in view of the content and time of year thought we’d print this to enable people to make contact for more information. I am writing to inform you of a project called the Green Doctor's Warmer Living Project we run here at Groundwork, Leeds (a not for profit environmental regeneration trust). The project aims to tackle issues of fuel poverty amongst low income families,the elderly,and disabled residents in targeted wards across Leeds. This is done by offering energy efficiency advice in the comfort of a clients home, while technical measures such as Energy efficient light bulbs, hot water tank jackets, reflective radiator panels and draught proofing is fitted where applicable. The project also looks into any available grants for home insulation and replace-ment heating systems. With rising fuel prices fast becoming a major concern for thousands of households, the Green Doctor project saves an average household £110 per year through the above measures. As Kirkstall falls in one of our catchment areas we thought Kirkstall Matters would be a fantastic way to pro-mote the project so that eligible residents in Kirkstall could take advantage of the free services we offer. We would be able to write up a press release for the magazine including any pictures, if necessary. If you have any further question about the project, or wish to talk about the possibility of printing an article, please do not hesitate to contact myself on 0113 238 0601. Kind regards, Emma Rooney Warmer Living Assistant Groundwork Leeds Tel: 0113 238 0601 Fax: 0113 252 5057 Environment & Business Centre, Merlyn-Rees Avenue, Morley, Leeds, LS27 9SL www.groundwork-leeds.org.uk

The Green Doctor's Warmer Living Project


The City Museum has opened its doors ...

At the opening in September of the long awaited new Leeds City Museum, Muriel Warriner and the Friends of Leeds City Museum were thanked for all their hard work over many years. Just how long awaited is open to discus-sion, but for some it dates from when a bomb dropped on the old museum in Park Row in World War Two! The superb collections now have a wonderful new home and in the process the “third” Cuthbert Broderick building has been given a new lease of life. The other two are the Town Hall (150 years old) and the Corn Ex-change. The Ancient Worlds gallery is stunning (the Commandment stone from Nablus, Palestine which once resided in Adel Church Museum looks great). The Collectors Corner – features the Oxley early photographs – taken on rides out

from the house, now part of The Village, Far Headingley. In the Natural History section we became reac-quainted with the much-loved Leeds tiger (began its second life as a floor rug until some-one thought it could be stitched up and stuffed as a museum exhibit). The elk and the yak were pretty impressive. The story of Leeds, a U-shaped exhibit, was much admired. Do go and see for yourself! Val Crompton (Photos) and Ann Lightman

Opening Times

Tue, Wed, Fri: 11am-6pm. Thur: 11am-8pm.

Sat, Sun: 11am-5pm. Admission is free


Birds of Prey at the Abbey ...

Visitors to Kirkstall Abbey were treated to a display of handling of various rare Birds of Prey this August, as part of the Museum’s summer programme. Photos: Val Crompton.

Gilberts and Sandford Road Residents Association

The Association has been in existence for approximately 6years, in that time the As-sociation has worked very hard for the benefit of Tenants and Residents alike. Together with the KVCA the Association was able to give Kirkstall its first ever fes-tive lights and has again obtained funding for this year. The Association’s main focus at the moment is the creation of a new children’s play area, on the disused site adjacent to Sandford Road. The Association is working with many different agencies and a credible plan is now being put together with the hope that by spring next year our local children with have a safe and secure new play fa-cility. Keith Collridge


The Mills in Kirkstall … A Public asset?

In 1970 the Council purchased Abbey Mills and St Ann’s Mills to provide public open space for a pro-jected “riverside park” that would have stretched between the A65 and the River Aire from Kirkstall Abbey to Cardigan Fields. The 1972 Development Plan would have seen much of the valley floor laid out as allotment gardens, playing fields and public open space. It would have created an inner city environment worthy of the European regional capi-tal that Leeds aspired to become.

Sadly, reality fell somewhat short of our ambitions. Prime road frontage has gradually been sold to a tawdry procession of used car lots, discount ware-houses and storage companies. The mills them-selves were converted into small industrial units, no bad thing in itself, except that much of our Victorian heritage has been lost to incompetent management and needless demolition.

Leeds City Council would struggle to maintain a rabbit hutch. Senior staff earn more than the Prime Minister, but basic obvious things like fixing the roof are ignored until interiors have been ruined by wa-ter penetration. St Ann’s Mills has a “fireproof brick arch” design (stone flagged floors supported by cast iron columns) which stood for 150 years until the council took it over and set the loft on fire. It was the only part of the building that would burn.

In December 2004 the council announced that it could no longer afford to maintain both mills, and resolved to sell Abbey Mills for residential conver-sion in order to re-invest the proceeds in St Ann’s, which would remain in light industrial use.

Scarcely a single figure in this 2004 report proved accurate, and the entire project has ended in abject failure. Extracting information from Leeds City Council is like pulling teeth, but we now know that:

• The plan to sell Abbey Mills pre-dated the building surveys.

• The council failed to collect about £300,000 owed by a former tenant for internal repairs.

• Repair costs were hugely exaggerated, includ-ing an outside lavatory that was estimated to cost £9,000 per square metre to repair.

•Planned preventive work was wrongly described as “backlog maintenance”, and repair

Insider dealing at the Kirkstall Mills A RECENT PROPOSAL FROM KVCA TO PUT

THE HISTORIC MILL BUILDINGS IN KIRKSTALL TO USE FOR

PUBLIC BENEFIT WAS REJECTED OUT OF HAND BY THE COUNCIL MAJORITY

Cllr John Illingworth PRESENTS A

PERSONAL REFLECTION ON THE BACK-GROUND

• estimates were arbitrarily doubled, making it appear that the council had a mountain to climb.

Estimated capital receipts included residential buildings that were not for sale, and assumed unre-alistic new build targets for a grade 2 listed com-plex. Although this was vigorously denied at the time, we now know that the council always intended to con-vert St Ann’s Mills from industrial use into high class “serviced offices” which were imagined to be more profitable. Projected income was based on office valuations, but the council lacked resources


... Or developers gain?

for the conversion work. The council had profes-sional estimates of the likely costs, but these were never published. Instead the “industrial” costs were inflated, making it difficult to see what was going on.

We now know that the council scheme cannot be done, so the latest plan is to sell off both buildings to the highest bidder, with little regard for their eventual fate. Despite knowing about the problem since 2003, the council has still not repaired the leaking roof at Abbey Mills. Water has been pour-ing in, so who knows what the building is now worth, at a downturn in the property market?

Abbey Mills benefits from a “planning brief” that will constrain developers, although it includes felling many of the trees opposite the Normans and con-structing a hideous access road on a raised earth embankment through the garden of Abbey Villa. The St Ann’s Mills complex dates back to 1750 but doesn’t have any planning protection at all. It may well go for residential conversion, although it is in the highest risk flood plain, which is hardly a sensi-ble place to live. Attempted marketing in January 2008 produced only derisory offers for the site. The council has been talking to potential developers, who claimed that the suggested planning con-straints were too onerous, so they have all been abandoned in an attempt to improve the price.

I find it appalling that the council is happy to talk in

private to properly speculators about the future of our industrial heritage, but it will not consult with local residents about the public assets that they know and love.

In July 2008 KVCA took a deputation to the full council meeting, seeking an “asset transfer” to the local community under the government’s “Quirk Initiative”. This allows community groups to take over council properties and run them for public benefit which the council seems manifestly unable to do. The KVCA proposal was supported by a de-tailed business plan, which included the following features:

•Basic refurbishment of both complexes financed from current income, primarily for low-cost indus-trial uses.

• A focus on “artisan” companies, including fab-rics, pottery, jewelry and the visual arts.

Partnership working at St Ann’s Mills, with Leeds Canoe Club to construct a white water canoe train-ing course accessible to inner-city kids, and with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to create a new visitor and education centre for the Kirkstall Nature Re-serve. Jonathon Crewdson who works for the De-velopment Trusts Association said “Having looked over your proposals, I think they are an excellent bid for an alternative use for this site which would keep it within the community. It also gels extremely well with the development trust movement…”

This low-key approach has always been viable, but the council has never properly examined it. Instead it relies on “professional” reports which are full of arith-metic errors and misleading information. On 2 Sep-tember the Executive Board refused to even con-sider the KVCA proposal, rejecting it out of hand in less than a minute. Kirkstall has a long tradition of running its own schemes, like the Festival and the Community Program and it generally does them very well. Perhaps the councillors feared that Kirkstall residents might show them up.


What’s on at Kirkstall Abbey/Museum ...

December 2008 Abbey House Museum Wednesday 3rd December, 10.30am-12 noon; The Wednesday Club for Adults Book-ing essential. £2.50 per person (no concessions) Wednesday 3rd December, 1.30pm-3.30pm; The Collections Club A chance to help preserve the past for the future and learn more about the wonderful collec-tions of Leeds Museums. Booking essential. There is no charge to take part. Wednesday 10th December, 10am-12 noon; Adult Art Group A chance to develop your artistic skills and look at the museum’s collections in a new and creative way. Each participant will be given the chance to create an artwork during the ses-sion which can be taken home. Booking essential, £5 per person (no concessions). Wednesday 17th December, 10.15am-12 noon; The Monkey Club A drop in morning for the under 5s and their carers with craft activities. This month’s theme is Keeping Warm. Kirkstall Abbey Tuesday 23rd December, 10.30am-11.15am and 2pm-2.45pm; Children’s Tour of Kirkstall Abbey. A fun exploration of the ancient ruins designed for kids. Free. Booking es-sential. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Tuesday 23rd December, 1pm-3pm; Family Fun Afternoon. Craft activities for all the family based around the theme of Victorian Christmas. No booking necessary, normal ad-mission applies. Saturday/ Sunday 17/28th December, 10.30am-11.15am and 2pm-2.45pm; Family tour of Kirkstall Abbey. Special tour for families exploring life as monk at Kirkstall Abbey. Free. Booking essential. Tuesday 30th December, Throughout the day, 10.00am-3.00pm; Treasure Hunt Clues will be hidden around the abbey – solve the clues and win a prize. Free to take part. Saturday/Sunday 3/4th January, 10.30am-11.30am and 2pm-2.45pm; Family tour of Kirkstall Abbey. Special tour for families exploring life as monk at Kirkstall Abbey. Free. Booking essential.


Activities ...

Do you have an event, activity or volunteering opportunity that you would like to publicise in Kirkstall Matters? Let us know before the copy deadline for the next issue—31st January.

Leeds Activities Opening times: LEEDS ART GALLERY The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 3AA 0113 247 8256 www.leeds.gov.uk/artgallery [email protected] Opening Times: Monday 10am–8pm Tuesday 10am–8pm Wednesday 12pm–8pm Thursday 10am–5pm Friday 10am–5pm Saturday 10am–5pm Sunday 1pm–5pm

TEMPLE NEWSAM HOUSE Temple Newsam Road, off Selby Road, Leeds, LS15 OAE. 0113 264 7321 www.leeds.gov.uk/templenewsam email: [email protected] Opening Times: Winter: Tues–Sun 10.30–4pm. Admission: Adults £3.50, Child £2.50, Family Ticket £9.00, Joint ticket for house & farm £14.00, LeedsCard / BreezeCard Free. Last admission 45 minutes before closing.

LOTHERTON HALL Aberford, Leeds, LS25 3EB 0113 281 3259 Opening Times: Tues–Sat 10am–4pm, Sun 12noon–4pm. Last admis-sion 45 minutes before close. Please note: the hall is closed during January and February. Admission: Adults £3, Child £1, Conc £1.50. Leeds Card 20% dis-count.

ABBEY HOUSE MUSEUM Abbey Walk, Kirkstall, Leeds, LS5 3EH 0113 230 5492 www.leeds.gov.uk/bbeyhouse Opening Times: Tues–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 12pm–5pm, Sun 10am–5pm, open bank holidays 10am–5pm. Admission: Adults £3.50, Child £1.50, Conc £2.50. Family Ticket £5. Discount for BreezeCard /LeedsCard holders.

THWAITE MILLS WATERMILL Thwaite Lane, Stourton, Leeds, LS10 1RP 0113 267 2887 Opening: Sat & Sun 1pm–5pm. Tours at 1.15pm, 2.15pm, 3.15pm. Open Tues–Fri 10am–5pm during school holidays) Booking advised as tours are site led. Admission: Adults £3, Child £1, Conc £1.50. Leeds Card 20% dis-count.

LEEDS INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM ARMLEY MILLS Canal Road, Armley Mills, Leeds, LS12 2QF 0113 263 7861 Opening: Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1pm–5pm, open bank holidays. Last entry 45 minutes before closing. Admission: Adults £3, Child £1, Conc £1.50. Leeds Card 20% dis-count.

DISCOVERY CENTRE Carlisle Road, Leeds, LS10 1LB 0113 214 1548, [email protected] Enquiry times: Mon–Fri 9am–4pm Admission: Free. By appointment only. Please call in advance to arrange a visit.

Kirkstall St Stephen's Christmas Concert

by the Lawnswood Singers

Will be on Wednesday 17th December at 7.30pm

Tickets are £5 (includes refreshments)

tel. 0113 267 7775

Weathers so bad it must be Kirk-stall Festival tomorrow.


A Joint Service Centre For Kirkstall As we go to press with this issue we learn that there is to be a consultation About a new ‘Joint Service Centre’ for Kirkstall. We reproduce here some

information taken from the leaflet advertising the initiative.

What is it? It seems to be an initiative involving vari-ous aspects of the NHS and the Council. It will house a range of Council, health and community services all in one building. The idea is to enable local residents to ob-tain health care services, useful informa-tion and advice in a’convenient location and comfortable surroundings’. Where will it be? The map on the leaflet looks like it is to be sited where the ‘Kirkstall Lites’ Pub now is. What are the claimed benefits? • A variety of Health and Council ser-

vices together, under one roof. • Good location for transport and facili-

ties. • Specially designed facilities for chil-

dren. • A high quality, purpose built building. • Bigger premises, disabled accessi-

ble. Local Doctors moving in. It looks like a new base for the existing practices and facilities of Laurel Bank, Morris Lane surgeries and Kirkstall Health Centre, but seemingly not the Abbey Medi-cal Centre. Proposed Community Health Services to include: Health visitors; community matrons; dis-trict nurses; mental health workers; mus-culoskeletal services; contraception and sexual health; cardiac rehabilitation; diabe-tes service; podiatry; nutrition and dietet-ics; community drug team; smoking ser-vices.

A Childrens and Family Centre for West and North West Leeds, providing for: Child and adolescent Mental Health Ser-vices; A Child health clinic; Child Develop-ment Team; Speech and language ther-arp; occupational therapy and physiother-apy and various other specialist childrens’ health services. Leeds City Council Services to include: • Customer Services/ One stop shop. • Welfare rights • Translation service • Job Shop • Area Management • Environmental Health • Leeds City Credit Union • Library Services Anticipated opening will be late 2011. Feedback on the proposal can be given via your GP surgery, where a comments form is available. People can also ring the Leeds Patient Ad-vice and Liaison Service on 0800 052 5270. More information is available from: 0113 201 2778- Judi Moakes 0113 201 2794– June Wilkinson There is also a freepost address to write to: FREEPOST RLSJ-XBH-HZRL FAO: Capital Planning Office Kirkstall Joint Service Centre Leeds LS16 6QG www.nhsleeds.nhs.uk


Hawksworth Wood Community Association 6 Broadway, Leeds LS5 3PR

Tel & Fax 0113 228 5550

Email: [email protected] www.hawksworthcommunity.leedslearning.org

Local Councillor Surgeries Thursdays 1-2pm

Multi-agency Advice Surgeries

1st Wednesday each month 10am-12 noon

Leeds City Credit Union Services

Membership Application Form

I wish to join the KVCA

Kirkstall Valley Community Association

Name……………………………………...

Address…………………………………..

Postcode………………………………...

Annual Membership (inc. delivery of Kirkstall Matters within the Kirkstall area) is £4

U.K. Postal delivery for a year costs us £3. For postal delivery we welcome a donation in addition to the

membership subscription.

I enclose cheque/postal order payable to ‘KVCA’ for £…..

Post this coupon to:

KVCA Treasurer 18 The Rise

Leeds LS5 3EP

Why not Join up? … KVCA needs YOU!

Join Your Community Association Here ...

Kirkstall Harriers Running Club meets at 6.50pm for a 7pm run, every Monday and Wednesday night (except Bank Holiday Mondays) at Kirkstall Leisure Centre. We are a friendly club and welcome all levels of ability. For more information please contact Jill on 07732517292 or email [email protected].

Jill Stocks, Secretary, Kirkstall Harriers

Is your business Kirkstall based? Why not advertise in Kirkstall Matters? Advertising is low-cost and effective

Circulation of 1000 copies -only £10 per quarter page

Mail us at [email protected]

We need you to support us and help pay for

the production of our Community Magazine.


Index of Advertisers

Abbey Guest House 40 Abbey House Museum Workshops 36 Accident Repairs - Branch Auto Bodies 42 Alison James – Optician 44 Bargain Booze 43 B. Bex – Joinery 43 Computer Help - Martin Lewis 42 Computers - Media Magic Computers 47 Computers - Steve Dunn PC Services 40 Co-op Leeds 46 CPS – Airedale, Quality Printing 43 Doyle Roofing & Property Maintenance 43 Electrical Installation - Tony Wilson 41 Funeral Directors - John Holt 43 Hawksworth Wood Community Association 35 Home Support Services 39 J.News Newsagents 44 Kaydan Gas Services – Gary Rhodes 46 Kirkstall Abbey Tennis Club 41 Kirkstall Leisure Centre 36 Kirkstall Online - Community Website 3 Kirkstall St Stephen’s Pre School 38 Kirkstall St Stephen’s Primary School 48 Kirkstall Valley Primary School Nursery 38 Kirkstall Valley Primary School 45 Leeds Homestay Services 47 Mark Johnson – Re-upholstery 44 Milford Sports & Social Club 38 N.L.S. - National Legal Services - Wills 47 Oddfellows 39 Painter & Decorator - Piarais 36 Printer - Simon of Smallprintleeds 43 Tall Tails –Cattery, Vesper Road 44 Therapeutic Counselling - Carole Anne 43 Tiling - Brian Hurst 46 West End House - Food & Ale 38 WYAS, Sheepscar 47

Birthday Parties at Abbey House Museum

If you are looking for a birthday celebration with

a difference, why not book a Birthday Party at the Museum?

Our parties give children a chance to be creative and explore the museum and its objects in a fun way. Party Planning Birthday Parties take place on Sunday mornings from 10am - 11.30 The party is suitable for children aged between 7 - 14 years. We can take up to 10 children per party. We provide a party leader and the materials.

The Birthday Party costs £30. Pre-booking is essential tel. 0113 230 5492

Education Workshops Specially designed workshops are available led by a freelance educator at a charge of £40 per session.

Suitable for Key Stage 1 & 2 Booking essential

Reminiscence Box Scheme To hire a box of objects for a day centre or nursing

home, please phone for details or a leaflet This service is free of charge.

Abbey House Museum tel. 0113 230 5492

Is your business Kirkstall based? Why not advertise in Kirkstall Matters?

Advertising is low-cost and effective Circulation of 1000 copies -only £10 per quarter

page Mail us at [email protected]

We need you to support us and help pay for the production of our Community Magazine.

Kirkstall Leisure Centre Looking for somewhere to hold a meeting or event?

We now have a Meeting Room Available every day one off or long term bookings

Seats up to 25 people. Children’s Parties, local groups and businesses welcome

Contact Reception for further details: Kirkstall Leisure Centre Kirkstall Lane, Leeds LS5 3BE Tel 0113 214 4555/6

Kirkstall – your local leisure centre


Monday- Friday 9am to 12 noon A warm, safe and stimulating

environment

From 2½ to school age FREE from 3 years old.

Kirkstall St Stephen’s Pre-School Kirkstall St Stephen’s

C of E Primary School, Morris Lane

Leeds LS5 3JD Tel: 0113 214 4630


Housekeeping & Ironing/ Private Care &

Home Support Services

We provide a professional, reliable, experienced housekeeping and/or home helping service. Friendly supportive care in your own home. Home-sitters, personal care, ironing, laundry, beds, shopping, cooking. Arranged to meet your own personal individual needs and requirements.

Additional services also available. Night-sitters, night-sleepers service by prearrangement (weekends & also bank holidays). References available.

For further information tel: 0794 601 7690 or 0113 250 6394


Steve Dunn PC Services For home PC users and small businesses

PC & Laptop Troubleshooting and Repair

Upgrading PC hardware or software Home/small office networks and general advice

Call me on 0113 2264567 for a free quote

email: [email protected] www.abbeyguesthouseleeds.co.uk

English Tourism Council

KIRKSTALL ABBEY TENNIS CLUB

Playing at Kirkstall Abbey Free coaching for juniors and adults for ten weeks from May Tournaments Social events

Membership: Adults £20 Family £40 Juniors £4

Concessions for Priority Leeds Card Holders

New members welcome

For more information contact: Jessica Fischer 07711 646991 [email protected]


Computer Help

Help with your computer at home, anywhere in Leeds, based in Kirkstall.

Email [email protected]

or tel. Martin on 07792 091438

Get your computer working at maximum speed!

• Internet security • Wifi security

• Email spam prevention • Mal/spyware protection

• Browser security • Data security

• Virus protection

• Microsoft Windows or Mac OSX Get your computer working for you! Also, help with any other technology offered,

from televisions to toasters

and everything in between.

Very reasonable rates

We welcome advertisements from local businesses

and Organisations.

Next Copy date: before 7th May.

For more information Contact:

KVCA

c/o The Treasurer, 18 The Rise,

Leeds LS5 3EP

Tony Wilson

Electrical Installations

16 Vesper Gardens

Kirkstall

Leeds LS5 3NS

Tel. 274 6027


Quality Printing for clubs, local associations, Church

Groups etc. at the keenest of prices ...

West Yorkshire Archive Services

WYAS, Leeds, Sheepscar Leeds LS7 3AP Tel: 0113 214 5814 Fax: 0113 214 5815

[email protected] Appointments recommended

Some archives are held offsite and our search room can get very busy.

Monday: 9.30am to 5pm

Tuesday: 9.30am to 5pm Thursday: 9.30am to 5pm

Please note we do not produce archives between 12 noon and 2pm

Is your business Kirkstall based? Why not advertise in Kirkstall Matters?

Advertising is low-cost and effective Circulation of 1000 copies -only £10 per quarter

page Mail us at [email protected]

We need you to support us and help pay for the production of our Community Magazine.


J.NEWS 1 MORRIS LANE, KIRKSTALL

278 6859

Newsagents

Sweets, Tobacco, Off-licence,

Greetings cards Newpapers Delivered

Major Credit Cards Accepted

Acrobat Document


Painter and Decorator

- no job too small - residential or business - 30 years experience

- always uses clean dust sheets and cleans up thoroughly - references available on request

Call Piarais 0113 295 8785 0772 995 8901

km099

Documents

pm facilities

kirkstall library

kirkstall lane

kirkstall festival

kirkstall matters issue

inhabitants of kirkstall

disabled access

cd rom multimedia