The new scheme will be piloted in Dortmund Square over the next three weekends.
The Women's Night Safe Space is a new scheme offering non-judgemental support, refuge and advice inside a stationary bus in Leeds city centre.
The initiative will offer mobile phone charging points, support calling a taxi, as well as ensuring a fresh supply of water, refreshments and warm drinks are readily available.
Hoping to be a place where women can come to if they feel concerned, unwell or vulnerable during a night out; this will be a safe place to report incidents to the police and wait for further assistance; or simply somewhere warm where women can wait for friends, so they are not alone.
The bus will be located on Dortmund Square on The Headrow. / Image: WikiCommons
Emily Turner, Women’s Lives Leeds project manager, has led the organisation of the Women’s Night Safe Space pilot. She says: “The Leeds Women’s Safety survey in May 2021 surveyed over 1,300 women of all ages, from all parts of the city.
”50% of the women we surveyed told us they often or always felt unsafe in the city centre at night. This pilot addresses the important issue of women feeling safe, as well as being safe, giving them a non-judgemental safe space to support their needs, be it make a report to the police, or simply a space to wait for friends if they become separated and worried.
“The main priorities that emerged from the survey were the need to tackle the attitudes and behaviour which underpin violence against women and girls; to make city environments safer; to increase reporting and improve responses.
Starting this Friday 4 March, the bus will run for the next three consecutive weekends from 9pm - 2am at Dortmund Square as part of the pilot scheme.
Image: Michael Discenz, Unsplash
A female security officer from security firm Gough and Kelly will be on hand for the duration of the pilot to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people accessing the safe space and the staff and volunteers delivering it.
West Yorkshire Police will also be available if needed to respond to incidents reported by people who access the project.
Councillor Debra Coupar, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for resources with responsibility for Safer Leeds said:
“Every woman in Leeds should be able to visit our city and feel safe but we know that may not always be the case. Our aim is to tackle and prevent any issues before they arise and provide women with a safe, friendly and non-judgemental place to visit if they feel unsafe and we hope we can roll this pilot out more widely in the future.”
“This important pilot forms part of the city’s wider work in addressing violence against women and girls. Following the successful launch of the Ask for Angela campaign last year, we now want to expand on that work and create a safe place for women to go if they feel at risk while out and about in the city centre."
People are also still being urged to use the ‘Ask for Angela’ service if they feel unsafe in a bar, pub or club.
We hope this service is a great success and provides women a place to recharge and safely offload concerns and receive professional assistance when needed.
Feature Image- Unsplash
Leeds
No Greek Tragedy, just indie bangers – The Wombats set Leeds’ First Direct Arena alight
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
Danny Jones
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Sophie Smith -
3rd March 2022 
