Monthly Archives: January 2016

Plans in place for redevelopment of Headingley Carnegie Stadium.

Credit: Leeds Rhinos' YouTube

Credit: Leeds Rhinos’ YouTube

PLANS to improve Headingley Carnegie Stadium have been created after the success of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Leeds Rhinos and Yorkshire Carnegie made it become one of the biggest visitor attractions in Leeds.

The plans aim to retain the stadium’s international position in readiness for the economic and social benefits that hosting the Cricket World Cup 2019 and future test match cricket will bring to Leeds and Yorkshire.

Funding will be provided from a combination of public and private funding including Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Leeds Rhinos, to help facilitate the stadium improvement plans.

Leeds Rhinos will provide the majority of the remaining investment through the proposed sale of two sites for housing development located off Weetwood Avenue, Weetwood and off Old Thorpe Lane, Bradford Road, Tingley.

The net receipts from the sale of these sites will be 100% invested into the improvements at Headingley Carnegie Stadium.

The proposals will create an increased capacity Cricket Stadium that will offer the highest standards of playing, practice and training facilities, good quality seating and corporate facilities, state of the art technology and media facilities as well as attractive spaces around the stadium to improve integration with the surrounding Headingley neighbourhood.

For the Rugby Stadium, the proposals will provide a replacement North and South Stand with enhanced facilities for players, fans and visitors.

The new South Stand will also replace some of the Rugby capacity lost by the development of the joint Stand between rugby and cricket and for the first time will include an element of seating within the stand however the standing capacity will still exceed the current level of members in the South Stand.

As part of the proposals, the Club are embarking on a consultation process which will shape and inform the final planning application.

The public will be invited to attend a series of exhibitions to view the plans for Headingley Carnegie Stadium, Weetwood and Tingley and will have the opportunity to discuss the plans with members of the design team and provide feedback.

Leeds Rhinos Chief Executive Gary Hetherington said: “We have been working behind the scenes with Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Leeds City Council for many years and now the vision of a completely re-developed Headingley is a reality.

“For Rugby fans, we will be providing significantly more comfort with much better seating, yet retaining the uniqueness and character of our home.

“Our overall capacity will not increase, but that has never been our aim.

“We have a 90-year-old Main Stand and a South Stand that was condemned six years ago and is in constant need of repair.

“It will present a major construction challenge and inevitably cause some disruption for all teams during that period.

“Our stadium capacity will reduce to just over 13,000 for a period during the 2017 season but we are determined to ensure all our ticketed members are guaranteed access to all games and that’s why the 2016 members will have priority for 2017.

“Headingley has been a wonderful asset of the City for 125 years with a worldwide reputation for sporting drama and excitement and this latest development is another great news story for Leeds and Yorkshire.”

Leeds Rhinos have uploaded a video to their YouTube channel indicating what will be put into place:

The Exhibitions are taking place as follows:

• Monday 8th February, 2016 from 4pm – 7pm
Weetwood Hall – The Bramley Room, Weetwood Hall, Otley Road, Leeds, LS16 5PS

• Tuesday 9th February, 2016 from 4pm – 7pm
Woodkirk Valley Country Club, Leeds Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire, WF12 7JL

• Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th February, 2016 from 4pm – 7pm
Headingley Carnegie Stadium, Carnegie Café Bar, St Michael’s Ln, Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS6 3BR

The exhibition will remain in the Carnegie Cafe Bar at Headingley Carnegie Stadium from Friday 12th February until Monday 15th February.

Big success for Headingley’s first ever “Craft Destash.”

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THIS weekend saw the first ever “Craft Destash” flash sale at Headingley’s HEART centre where crafters sell off their surplus materials.

Organised by DesignInspireLive, it saw a huge turnout on Saturday 23rd January for customers wanting to buy items that stall holders were selling off.

Some of the products that were on sale included fabric, jewellery findings, thread, buttons, paper craft, beads, leather, display equipment and more.

Owner of DesignInspireLive, Becky Moore was one of those people who decided to sell all the materials and equipment that they do not use anymore from their cupboards and wardrobes.

“Today was absolutely rammed, it was really packed.” Becky said.

“I never really expected that at all, it was amazing the response we got and some people came from a long way just to be here as well so it wasn’t just local Headingley people.”

Due to its success, the flash sale will be held in the future but it will not be that frequent due to the amount of work that it involves in organising it.

“It was quite a lot of effort to do but you don’t want to get people being bored of the event,” Becky added.

“I think the nice thing was that it’s a really unique event that everyone hadn’t been to before which was really exciting.

“I definitely think I’ll do one in the future but it might be a fair few months away yet.”

Being the first Craft Destash held in Headingley, it means that there is room for improvement and to develop it for the future to gain even more popularity.

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DesignInspireLive will have more events this year and the next one will be in a few months time:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full house for Headingley’s Cafe Lento gig featuring Ellie Coast and Dave Pilla.

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FRIDAY night saw Cafe Lento on North Lane in Headingley host one of its live gigs showcasing local talent.

Ellie Coast and her partner Dave Pilla were the invited artists who performed a range of songs infront of a jam-packed venue.

Ellie, 25, a Jazz and Soul musician from Leeds is not new to the cafe as she has been performing there since she was a teenager and knows the owner of Cafe Lento, Richard Lindley, who used to let her perform for free.

“He didn’t have the money to pay his acts and I just wanted to play.” Ellie said.

“It was just so nice for us all because he likes to help me by giving me that gig and I’ve always wanted to do music.

“It’s just a thing that we’ve kept going as I’ve progressed and now he’s progressed to the point where he can pay his artists.”

She decides to perform in such a small place because it is different from her usual “pub gigs” that she does.

“It’s a lovely gig for us because we just get to play whatever we want to play and people come in here to hear something different.” Ellie said.

“It’s nice because it’s such a small place, it creates an intimate atmosphere for the audience, and it’s just really nice for us to have the things that we want to play, heard in such a nice atmosphere and that obviously boosts our popularity and gets more people listening to our stuff.

Comparing a pub gig to a smaller performance in a cafe, she added: “If we’re doing a pub gig, we’re basically employed to just please the audience with things that they’ll know and things that they can enjoy by singing along.

“You’re not being recognised as an artist yourself there, you just play other peoples’ music.

“Whereas here, you get to play your own music and a range of covers that you either just love or have arranged yourself.”

Check out one of Ellie’s performances from the night:

Dave Pilla, 35, is a singer-songwriter based in Leeds who performs with Ellie all the time but Friday night was his first time performing at Cafe Lento.

“It’s the kind of gig as a musician that you want to play” Dave said.

“It’s a quiet, attentive crowd and you can play your own songs.

“I’ve been to a lot of these sorts of gigs in various shapes and sizes and they’re always a joy to play at because you can hear a pin drop.

“There’s a time and a place for ‘rowdy’ gigs and they’re fun as well but I think the kind of stuff that I play and Ellie as well, lends itself to this type of atmosphere.

Check out one of Dave’s performances from the night:

Having live artists play is just one of the reasons why Cafe Lento is so popular.

Owner of the Cafe, Richard Lindley said: “I grew up with alot of music when I was young, my dad was a Jazz guitarist, just as an amateur and I’ve always liked live music.

“So when I started the cafe eight years ago, I thought one thing I wanna do is bring live music into the venue.”

There are not a lot of places in Headingley that do that but Cafe Lento along with White’s Deli in Headingley more than welcome it.

And one thing that Richard thinks sets them apart is the atmosphere that it brings:

For some more of Ellie and Dave’s performances, check out the playlist:

Check out Ellie’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Soundcloud

Check out Dave’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Soundcloud

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Cafe Lento in Headingley set to host special gig featuring Ellie Coast.

Credit to Ellie's Twitter @elliecoastmusic

Credit to Ellie’s Twitter @elliecoastmusic

HEADINGLEY is home to many local, independent cafes and one of these, Cafe Lento, is set to bring in something different and unconventional on Friday night.

Ellie Coast, a singer-songwriter from Leeds, is set to perform on Friday 22nd January from 7pm onwards along with her partner, Dave Pilla.

Ellie has been playing at Cafe Lento since she was a teenager and she said: “I know and love the owner, he is so kind and passionate about music.

“Every time I play there, Richard makes us Chilli Con Carne and the audience are always so respectful – you can hear a pin drop.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to appreciate our own vocals as most gigs we do are to please an audience wanting popular covers.

“This gig is one where the audience want to see our emotion, hear the delicacies of our voices and hear something they may not have heard before.

“These are the ones we play for and to top all this, it will be the first time my partner has played there with me and I’m excited for everyone to hear his music.”

If you want to hear this special gig, then go on down to Cafe Lento in Headingley on Friday.

Check out Ellie’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

West Yorkshire Police identifies Headingley resident as Hyde Park murder victim.

DETECTIVES investigating a murder following the discovery of a body in the Hyde Park area of Leeds at the weekend have identified the victim.

Firefighters were called about a bin on fire at Hyde Park Terrace at around 7pm on Saturday 16th January where they found the body of Michael Ayres, 60, from Headingley.

Two local men, aged 37 and 50, were arrested on Saturday night on suspicion of murder and a third man, 61, from Leeds, was arrested on Sunday 17th January on suspicion of murder.

Detective Superintendent Simon Atkinson of the West Yorkshire Police Homicide and Major Enquiry Team said: “We have now informed Mr. Ayres’ family about his death and they are understandably devastated.

“Three men remain in custody having been arrested on suspicion of his murder and our enquiries are ongoing.

“We are still keen to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious in the vicinity of St. Augustine’s Wrangthorn church hall in the period leading up to when Mr. Ayres’ body was found.

“We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw three men pulling a wheelie bin along Hyde Park Terrace at about tea-time on Saturday.

“While we are still establishing the full circumstances surrounding his death, we can say that this appears to have been an incident involving people that are known to each other and there is no threat to the wider community in that area.

“We recognise however that this incident will cause concern among people living there and officers from the local neighbourhood policing team are conducting increased patrols of the area to provide reassurance.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team via 101 or call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555 111.