Leeds Civic Trust

15/06/2026

🔵 Blue Monday 🌈Pride Month!

This week we're looking at our 160th blue plaque unveiled in 2016 for The New Penny!

The Hope and Anchor, renamed the New Penny in 1975, provided a safe haven for the LGBTQ community from the 1950s. Although homos*xuality was decriminalised in 1967, the Act said homos*xual acts must not occur in public. The Hope and Anchor received national publicity in 1968 when an article appeared in the sensationalist national newspaper 'The People', lambasting what it said was the lewd and outrageous behaviour of men and women in the pub.

It reported that men 'heavily made up and smelling of perfume were dancing cheek to cheek... and others were kissing passionately ... some wore women's clothes ... and people watched without a murmur! Girls too danced together and kissed - many of the girls wore men's hairstyles, suits, shirts and ties'.

The New Penny's motherly landlady Cathy Wilson said "About 90% of my customers are q***r or le***an. They spend all their time and money in here. They come here because they regard it as their pub and I get no trouble. I would rather run a pub like this for these people than have a pub full of some of the normal types we have in Leeds."

At the plaque unveiling, a man in his 60s spoke movingly about the social and emotional difficulties of growing up as a young gay man in Hunslet in the 1960s, and how going to the New Penny and meeting other gay people for the first time made him feel at ease with himself.

In 'The Blue Plaques of Leeds Volume 2', Kevin Grady and Bob Tyrell wrote "witnessing the joy of the gay community at the unveiling of the plaque left absolutely no doubt about the value and importance of including it in the Trust blue plaques scheme."

✏️The plaque's wording is 'THE NEW PENNY. This late Victorian public house was formerly known as the Hope and Anchor. Since 1953 it has provided a safe venue for the Le***an, Gay, Bis*xual, and Trans* community both before and following the decriminalisation of homos*xuality in 1967. Renamed The New Penny in 1975, it is one of the longest continually running LGB&T* venues in the UK.'

🔎This plaque lives at 57-59 Call Lane, LS1

14/06/2026

💻 New online talk!

🧶Leeds - A Long Yarn. The art and mystery of making woolen cloth.

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Leeds getting its charter, we have released a new leture by urban geographer Dr Rachael Unsworth about the long history of the cloth trade in leeds.

👉Learn about how cloth was made in our city and how the trade put Leeds on the map!

🔗 Watch on our YouTube channel: https://zurl.co/hd1Ax

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Image Description:
📸A graphic showing the title page from the online lecture and Dr Rachael Unsworth in a box above. There are illustrations of pigeons and Leeds Corn Exchange on the graphic in blue and pink.

13/06/2026

👷 Planning Application

Our volunteer run Planning Committee have considered a planning application for Joseph Pullan And Sons Ltd, Sunnyview Gardens, Beeston, LS11 8QT

🚧The plans are to demolish the former J. Pullan & Sons Manor Works buildings and construct a 100% affordable residential development comprising 34 self-contained flats.

✅The Planning Committee support this application. The units to be created are for the unhoused / those vulnerable to homelessness. The plans include a nice green courtyard and good views from Beeston Hill. The committee was very happy with the use of the development.

🤚 HAVE YOUR SAY
You can read the full planning application and submit a comment by searching for the reference 26/02391/FU on the Council's Public Access to Planning website:🔗https://zurl.co/jg7ls The deadline to comment is 15/06/26

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Image Descriptions:
📸 Image 1: A graphic showing a Google Maps screenshot of the building on a blue background.
📸 Image 2: A graphic showing an architectural CGI image of the proposed new building on a blue background.

12/06/2026

🎁 Need a Father's Day gift? Give the gift of a Leeds Civic Trust membership!

🦉Leeds Civic Trust membership is a perfect gift for anyone who loves Leeds. Members receive a welcome pack full of goodies, our monthly newsletter, biannual magazine, discounts and priority booking on events and much more.

🛒Buy a gift membership here! 🔗https://zurl.co/Vu9KE

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Image Description:
📸Image 1: A photograph of two men holding drinks and smiling at the Leeds Civic Trust 60th birthday party.

11/06/2026

🔎 Heritage Watch!

🛠️Our Heritage at Risk List includes over 90 buildings in Leeds worthy of preservation, but at risk of disrepair. The unlisted buildings 83-89 & 91 Kirkgate, LS2, joined our list in 2015.

The many buildings that make up Kirkgate have been used and repurposed over its long history. Over the centuries, the street has been home to important residences, merchant houses, and altogether more modest homes and workshops. In recent decades, these buildings have housed a pet shop, an art hostel, a barber’s shop, a sewing machine specialist, a recruitment agency, and a hairdresser.

These buildings have fallen into serious disrepair, culminating in the collapse of No. 85 into the street in spring 2024. A lack of basic maintenance has left them highly vulnerable and in rapid decline. The owner continues to obstruct progress and shows little willingness to take responsibility. Leeds City Council has begun works to stabilise the remaining structure of No. 85, hopefully buying vital time to consider long term options.

The dilapidated state of these buildings is a cause for serious concern. While some of the properties date from the latter part of the 18th century, the street reflects the broader story of Leeds, evolving from a medieval church street to the centre of manorial life and civic amenities, then a busy commercial district of cloth trading and workshops, and more recently a retail and market area. With its early medieval origins, Kirkgate is considered to be one of Leeds oldest streets. Its name has a literal meaning, 'the road (gate) to the church (kirk)' and still paves the way to Leeds Minster. Kirkgate is an important part of our city’s history, and its historic buildings merit the investment needed to bring them back into meaningful use.

👉See our full Heritage At Risk List here: https://zurl.co/ZdNf1

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Image Description:
📸Images 1-4 are graphics, each showing a photograph of the collapsed Kirkgate buildings taken from differnet angles on an orange background. At the top 'Heritage Watch' is written in white text and '83-89 & 91 Kirkgate' is in white text at the bottom.

09/06/2026

👷 Planning Application

Our volunteer run Planning Committee have considered a planning application for Merrion Centre Car Park, Merrion Way, LS2 8BT.

🚧The plans are for a change of use from a car park to eight padel tennis courts.

❌The Planning Committee object to this application. Whilst they think the proposed new use of the space is acceptable, they object to the style of the warehouse. The proposed large grey warehouse-style attachment to the top of the car park is very bulky visually. The committee think it needs to blend into its surroundings better. For example, a gradient of colour could be considered.

🤚 HAVE YOUR SAY
You can read the full planning application and submit a comment by searching for the reference 26/02603/FU on the Council's Public Access to Planning website:🔗https://zurl.co/jg7ls The deadline to comment is 15/06/26

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Image Descriptions:
📸 Image 1: A graphic showing a Google Maps screenshot of the top of the Merrion Centre on a blue background.
📸 Image 2: A graphic showing a plan of the proposed padel courts on a blue background.

08/06/2026

08/06/2026

Do you or do you know someone who needs help with a smartphone, table or computer?
Come along to the
Armley Community Hub
2 Stocks Hill
Armley
Leeds
LS12 1UQ
with your device and speak to our friendly librarians.

This takes place every Tuesday 2.00 – 3.30 (TERM TIME ONLY)

08/06/2026

🔵 Blue Monday 🌈Pride Month!

This week we're looking at our 192nd blue plaque unveiled in 2024 for Transvestism and Transs*xualism in Modern Society!

In March 1974, the University of Leeds & Leeds Polytechnic hosted the first national Transvestism and Transs*xualism conference in the UK. This momentous occasion was attended by over 100 guests, many of whom were trans.

The conference is seen by many as the beginning of understanding and recognising Trans rights in the UK.

The conference, run in association with the Gay Liberation Front & Leeds Students’ Union, was spread across many Leeds venues. The conference report notes that the hospitality & hotel industry were welcoming of delegates: even though the organisers anticipated some hostility, delegates were allowed to use their toilets of choice.

The city was largely welcoming. Local radio stations broadcasted adverts for the conference and media outlets reported on the conference. The conference included lectures from psychologists, medical professionals & leading activists, many of whom were trans, covering topics like gender roles, gender reassignment and the position of Trans people in modern society.

Delegates attended workshops to discuss family responses, the legal status of the Trans community and the difference between s*x and gender.

On the Saturday night of the conference, a disco was held at the University. Many of the Trans guests were accompanied by their partners and the disco was well attended by non-Trans students of the university.

The plaque was nominated by researcher GossipGrrrl, who said: “The 1974 conference is something of an urban legend - talked about by members of the local trans community but with very little in the way of recognition for it by the rest of Leeds."

✏️The plaque's wording is 'Transvestism and Transs*xualism in Modern Society. This groundbreaking conference took place in this building in March 1974. Convened by trans people of Leeds, it was the first trans rights conference to be organised by trans people in the United Kingdom.'

🔎This plaque lives at University of Leeds Student Union