Abbey House Museum has great taste

Picture caption: students Andrew Knox, Robert Morse and Greg Michell preparing the Abbey House Museum exhibition



An event exploring 18th century fast food and sugar boycotts is poised to open at Abbey House Museum thanks to the creative flair of three design students.

The latest must see exhibition – Taste: the culture and politics of food – explores changing attitudes to food over the last 200 years through diet, health, food technology, ethics and religion.

Andrew Knox, 20, Robert Morse, 21, and Greg Michell, 19, clinched the opportunity to design the exhibition’s look beating hundreds of fellow students in a competition organised by the museum and Leeds Metropolitan University.

Just some of the exhibits include colourful temperance banners denouncing the evils of alcohol, an early gas stove decorated in willow pattern, a Leeds pottery oyster dish – the 18th century’s fast food – and a discussion around boycotts of sugar produced by slaves.

The school of architecture, landscape and design students have been hard at working since November to design eye-catching and innovative displays inspired by kitchens and cookery for the opening on Saturday 22 January.

Kitty Ross Leeds City Councils curator of Leeds history and social history said:

“This partnership is of great benefit to both sides. The students get a real life project to work on giving them invaluable experience to take into future careers. The museum benefits from the students’ energy, imagination and design flair producing an exiting exhibition for visitors.”

Speaking on behalf of the group Leeds Metropolitan University design student Robert Morse said:

“This has been a really fun project to work on and the experience has been rewarding. It’s been hard work what with our other course commitments. We feel very lucky to have won this opportunity so we owe Abbey House Museum a big thank you.”

Abbey House Museum is open Tuesday to Friday 10am - 5pm, Saturday 12pm - 5pm and Sunday 10am - 5pm. Admission charges are adults £3.50, concessions £2.50 (senior citizens and students), children £1.50 (16 and under) and family tickets £5.00 (two adults and up to three children). The exhibition is open until 31 December.

For further information logon to www.leeds.gov.uk/abbeyhouse or call 0113 230 5492. The museum is in Abbey Road, Kirkstall, Leeds, LS5 3EH.

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For media enquiries please contact: Daniel Johnson, communications officer, tel: 0113 2478285, email: daniel.johnson@leeds.gov.uk

Proposals to make Bramhope a conservation area

People are being asked for their views on plans to make Bramhope a conservation area – what they think about the village and how it could be improved.

The proposals, published by Leeds City Council, will for the first time ever help protect Bramhope’s unique architecture and historical attractions from inappropriate demolition and development.

Under the plans a new conservation area will take in large areas of the village, including the historic medieval village core around The Cross, The Creskelds and other areas of high quality 1930s developments, and historic farm complexes such as Staircase House.

A conservation area appraisal and management plan will be produced to ensure the special interest of the conservation area is documented.

Bramhope dates from at least 1086 in the Domesday Book but there is prehistoric evidence in the area, so it is believed there has been human activity there for around 4,000 years

Councillor Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council executive board member responsible for city development, said:

“Bramhope is a village of historic importance and has maintained its unique character as the social mix has changed and new residents have moved in. Creating a conservation area will help safeguard the special architecture of the village and protect important buildings from demolition.

“Awarding an area conservation status is an important step and the opinions of local people are an valued part of this process. We welcome people’s views on the proposals.”

The draft proposals for Bramhope’s conservation area are available on-line throughout the consultation, at: www.leeds.gov.uk/conservation. Copies will also be held at The Robert Cravan Memorial Hall for public viewing.

The public consultation began this week and will run until Friday 25 February. Posters will be on display to inform people of their opportunity to comment.

A public meeting and drop-in session will be held on Tuesday 1st February 2011 at The Robert Cravan Memorial Hall. The public meeting will begin at 7pm when a presentation will be made about the work and people will get the chance to ask questions. A more informal drop-in session will then be held from 7.45pm until 9pm.

The proposals will be taken to council officials for approval in March 2011. People can respond to this consultation during the public meeting, or by emailing the conservation team at building.conservation@leeds.gov.uk.

Buildings within a conservation area are protected from unauthorised demolition, and new developments have to meet higher standards of design than elsewhere. Other planning rules are slightly different and permission from the council is needed for certain activities such as tree felling.

Leeds City Council’s Outer North West area committee, with the support of the ward councillors, have made this work a priority and allocated money from their ‘Well Being Fund’ to ensure Bramhope has up-to-date conservation area protection.

During the consultation period people can also request a copy of the draft appraisal from the conservation team at: Sustainable Development Unit, Leeds City Council, Leonardo Building, 2 Rossington Street, Leeds, LS2 8HD
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For media enquiries please contact:
Sara Hyman, Leeds City Council press office tel: (0113) 224 3602
Email sara.hyman@leeds.gov.uk

Act now to save up to £800 on the cost of a replacement boiler with the Leeds City Council and npower boiler scrappage scheme

Hundreds of homes in Leeds could be warmer and more energy efficient this winter - but homeowners are being urged to act fast if they want to take advantage of the boiler scrappage scheme being offered by Leeds City Council and energy supplier npower.

Under the scheme, the council provides a grant worth £400 to homeowners who ditch their inefficient boilers and replace them with new ones. npower will match this grant, with up to a further £400 discount dependent on the boiler, giving a total discount of up to £800.

Gas Safe registered npower hometeam engineers would carry out all the installations of the modern, energy efficient ‘A’ rated boiler which could save each household up to £225 a year on their fuel bills and cut their carbon emissions too.

However, there are limited funds available and with a positive response since the scheme was launched in November 2010, homeowners need to act fast if they don’t want to miss out.

Councillor Tom Murray, Leeds City Council’s executive board member for environmental services, said:
“There’s no point throwing money away by keeping your old inefficient boiler, when help is available to get it replaced. Many enquiries have already been received and some homeowners are already benefiting from a warmer home and cheaper bills. With a discount of up to £800 available and savings of £225 a year on fuel costs and a big cut in each home’s carbon emissions, I’d urge people to get in touch quickly to see if they qualify.”

Richard Cotton, Residential Marketing Manager for npower Energy Services said:
"With the cold winter weather already here this is a great opportunity for householders to replace an old, inefficient boiler with a modern one they can rely on over the coming months."

Funds are limited so to find out if you qualify for the Leeds City Council Boiler Scrappage scheme call today, FREE on 0800 980 5972 and quote code B023P LCC. Lines are open.

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For media enquiries please contact:
Michael Molcher, Leeds City Council (0113) 224 3937
e-mail: michael.molcher@leeds.gov.uk