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Leeds Industrial Museum ready to go into space
 Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills is to celebrate the official opening of a dedicated new gallery space at a special event this week. The MillSpace will be formally opened at the museum on Canal Road at 5:30pm on Wednesday 21st July with the first use of the new space being an exhibition by celebrated local photographer Casey Orr entitled ‘Wool’. The project to create The MillSpace was overseen by Leeds City Council who manage the museum with funding support from the Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA) Renaissance Yorkshire. The new gallery is the first such dedicated space in the museum, and will allow for works to be showcased by artists and community groups from the local area and beyond. The MillSpace will also be home to a series of artist-in-residence programmes, of which Casey Orr’s exhibition is the first. Leeds City Council executive member for leisure Councillor Adam Ogilvie said: “This new MillSpace gallery is a fantastic addition to the Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills as it offers the opportunity to work with a range of artists and community groups and engage with whole new audiences who perhaps have never visited the museum before. “This will bring a whole new aspect to the museum and we look forward to seeing all the great displays of talent on show at The MIllSpace in the coming years.” Head of Renaissance Yorkshire Janet Thompson said: “The new MillSpace gallery at Armley Mills puts the local community right where it should be - at the heart of the museum. Now that the new space is up and running there will be lots of exciting things going on and more reasons for people to pop in on a regular basis.” Casey Orr will be a guest at the opening to see the exhibition... Leeds sees big drop in burglary
 Burglary in Leeds has dropped dramatically, according to figures released today by Safer Leeds. There were 816 fewer burglaries in the city in the six months to May 2010 compared with the same period the year before – a drop of 16 per cent. The fall follows a city-wide drive by Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Police to target offenders and improve home security. The approach involved analysing intelligence reports to identify burglary hotspots, and protect vulnerable victims as well as improved information-sharing across the city. The reports identified prolific offenders and locations of concern and targeted programmes were set up to focus on these. Police also successfully closed off a number of outlets for stolen goods, which is also believed to have contributed to the fall. The news has been hailed as a breakthrough by representatives of Safer Leeds, the city’s Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership after years of rising burglary levels in the city. Cllr Peter Gruen, Leeds City Council’s executive member for Community Safety, said: “These figures show a huge turnaround in burglary levels in the city in a relatively short time. They show what can be achieved by good partnership working and by targeting our work to identify the places and the people that need the most help. “This intelligence-led approach is going to be increasingly important in the coming months as we face doing the same job with reduced resources. “It is important though that we don’t become complacent. We at Safer Leeds will do all we can to continue to drive down burglary levels. But the public can help too. “One third of all burglaries are the result of doors and windows being left open – and that goes up to 50 per cent in the student areas. “So, please, during these summer... Parklands Girls’ High School and Primrose High School futures to be decided
 Recommendations to close Parklands Girls’ High School and Primrose High School and reopen both as academies are to be considered by Leeds City Council’s executive board. Both schools are included the National Challenge programme, announced in 2008, and require changes to be made to ensure the 30 per cent GCSE target for 2011 is reached or maintained. Education Leeds has proposed to establish a mixed academy on the Parklands site, sponsored by Edutrust Academies Charitable Trust (EACT), which also sponsors the Leeds West Academy, and establish an academy on the Primrose site, sponsored by the Co-operative Group. Parklands Girls’ High School’s GCSE results exceed the national target but due to a declining roll and difficult financial situation present a challenge for sustaining progress beyond 2011. Primrose High School faces major challenges to improve teaching, attendance and behaviour standards and require urgent changes to meet the target. Councillor Jane Dowson, executive board member for learning at Leeds City Council, said:“There are real challenges facing both schools which need to be addressed to ensure standards and outcomes improve for every pupil. It is essential that all children and young people have access to the best education possible. Where this isn’t the case, we will assess what needs to be improved and make the necessary changes.” If approved at the next executive board meeting on Wednesday July 21, the proposals will go ahead in 2011.... Labour triumphs in Local Election
 Labour won 20 of the 33 seats up for election on Thursday 6th May 2010. Councillor Keith Wakefield, Leader of the Labour Group, said: "I am absolutely delighted with these results and the gains Labour have made across the city from an administration that is on borrowed time. This shows that the people of Leeds are no longer prepared to tolerate the systematic dismantling of key front line services. "This is a clear vote of no confidence in the Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition and demonstrates that the public no longer have any faith in the ability to run this Council." Gains were made in the following wards: Ron Graham in Burmantofts and Richmond Hill, gained from the Liberal Democrats
John Hardy in Farnley and Wortley, gained from the Greens
Sharon Hamilton in Moortown, gained from the Liberal Democrats
Ghulam Hussain in Roundhay, gained from the Conservatives... Eddie Izzard campaign boost
 Yesterday Eddie Izzard gave a boost to the campaign in Pudsey and Horsforth. The well known comedian joined supporters and Labour candidates Jamie Hanley and Rebecca Brady in Horsforth. Jamie Hanley is standing to succeed Paul Truswell as MP for Pudsey, and Rebecca Brady is set to take the Horsforth seat for Labour. See Eddie's endorsement of Rebecca here... Eddie has also done a sort video "Brilliant Britain" following has mamouth running tour of Britain...... Labour Campaign Launch
 John Denham, along with local Labour MPs, Councillors and Parliamentary candidates, launched the Yorkshire and Humber Labour Party general and local election campaigns at the Town Hall in Leeds city centre this week. John Denham, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, spoke of the need to secure the economic recovery as well as keeping the Yorkshire and Humber region firmly Labour. He also spoke of the damage done in Yorkshire and Humber by previous Conservative governments. Afterwards Rachel Reeves, PPC for Leeds West said: "It was great to be here with all the Parliamentary candidates for the launch of our regional campaign. The next 30 days will be tough but we are ready for the fight."... Leeds Trolly Bus scheme approved
BREAKING: The Government has today given the go ahead for the Leeds Trolley Bus scheme. The £ 254 scheme could be taking passengers within six years. Sadiq Khan, Transport Minister, said: "An efficient and reliable transport system is critical to any local community. Today's announcement seeks to tackle congestion in the city at peak times, whilst presenting sustainable and practical alternatives to the car." Modern Tbus on the streets of Leeds (composite by Ashley Bruce www.tbus.org.uk)... Council Budget 2010/11
 The Lib Dem / Tory Budget in brief Many will have seen the headline Council Tax rise of 2.5% in the Council Budget, but behind this is a raft of rises in charges and cuts in services that attack the most vulnerable in the city. Council Keith Wakefield, Leader of the Labour Group, said: "If you look at this budget - instead of making bold decisions, instead of being clear about the direction of travel, the Tories & Lib Dems are going to put at risk our services to the elderly and young, particularly the vulnerable." Charges Up! Council Tax UP 2.5% Council Rents UP 3.1% Nursery fees UP 3% Hot meals for adult Social Care UP 17% Burial and cremation charges UP 47% Services Cut! CUT! £ 1.58 million from Sure Start Children's Centres Moves towards fortnightly bin collections CLOSED! 3 Adult Day Centres CUT! graffiti Teas Wasted! £1,000 a day on a trouble shooter for failed Children's Services £11 million on consultants for the failed Children's Services £21 million spend on Agency Staff (07/08) £350,000 on staff suspended on full pay £40,000 spend on the scrapped 'Contact Leeds' branding... High Speed Rail Link for Leeds
Government Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, announced today plans to bring high-speed rail to Leeds. The new generation of high speed travel will include both Leeds and Sheffield, despite earlier fears that it would only offer rapid links to London from the West Coast. The initial phase of the scheme will be built to Birmingham, and then proceed in a y-network to both Leeds and Manchester. The plans will cut journey times from Leeds to the capital to one and a half hours. Although it is some years until the project will become a reality...
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Gordon Brown addresses the London Citizens with an inspiring speech that is being dubbed as one of the classic speeches of the 2010 General Election....