A welcome to those who were successful in the recent local elections in Leeds and commiserations to all those who lost, including hard-working local councillors.
It takes a lot of courage to stand for elected office and to accept the responsibility that comes with serving the public. Being in office is about making choices and taking decisions. Many of them aren’t easy but they have the capacity to change things for the better and, on occasions, to transform lives. We should also remember that the job is now made harder by the abuse that is generated these days by the misuse of social media by malign individuals and amoral algorithms. We may not always share the views of those who represent us, but as Barack Obama once wisely said “We have to learn to disagree with each other agreeably.”
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The Middleton Pride in Place project – funded by the Government – is coming along. I recently met with the Middleton Park councillors to discuss starting the process of recruiting neighbourhood board members to oversee the project. We are looking for people who are committed to the local community and are willing to put in time to help make Middleton a better place to live in. To get more information and an expression of interest form, please email: [email protected]
The Pride in Place programme will see up to £5 billion given to nearly 250 areas across the UK. Each area – including Middleton – will receive up to £20 million of funding and support over the next 10 years to make the long-term improvements residents want.
Communities will be able to spend the funding on what matters most to them – from improvements to pavements and high streets to investing in culture and green spaces and lots else besides. The Pride in Place Programme gives power to local people.
Each of the nearly 250 areas receiving this money will establish a neighbourhood board. These boards will put local people at the heart of deciding their area’s future, bringing together residents, the local MP, councillors, local businesses, grassroots campaigners, workplace representatives, faith leaders and community organisations.
By involving their community, the board should generate a vision for the future of their area and set out a plan to deliver it over the course of the 10-year programme (and beyond). This is a really exciting opportunity for the community in Middleton, so let’s grasp it with both hands.
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There is a great deal of concern about the decision of the church to sell off the Cottingley Community Centre. The Centre is at the heart of the estate and is the only community space in Cottingley. Over the years we have all have seen how it is used for a wide variety of really important events and community activities, including a community pantry and the local GP surgery. I recently met with the Centre Manager Christine Smart to talk about what’s been happening, and I have backed the successful application to list the building as an asset of community value with Leeds City Council. This means that the local community has six months in which to raise the funds to buy the Centre. Working with supporters of the Centre, local councillors and Leeds City Council we intend to do all we can to enable these vital services to continue, because we all know how much needed they are by the people of Cottingley.
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Good news for Cockburn High School where Great British Energy – the new publicly-owned energy company set up by the Government – has installed a solar array. The new solar panels will help to reduce the school’s energy bills and it’s part of a programme that will see over 250 schools, 260 NHS sites and many military bases increasing their renewable energy generation and saving on their energy bills.
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And finally, the recent hot weather, or to be more precise the recent variable weather, has been the source of much debate. By the time you read this, we’ll probably be experiencing unseasonal hail or another bout of cold conditions. Incidentally, the record books show that the last time snow fell in West Yorkshire during June was on the 2nd of June 1975. But returning to the present, while the temperature in the centre of Leeds reached 33.1°C on 25 May, research from monitoring stations around Leeds showed that the temperature in more rural areas around the city on the same day was 7- 8°C lower. Trees, plants and water can make a big difference, and as the YEP reported “a sensor located near the River Aire in the Climate Innovation District recorded temperatures 1.5°C cooler than the city centre during the late afternoon.” This knowledge has important implications for how we try and keep cool in future heatwaves, which the evidence is telling us are going to become more common. It’s all a matter personal preference, but 33°C is far too hot for me!
First published in the June 2026 edition of South Leeds Life, available online here https://southleedslife.com/newspaper/