A new nightlife safety scheme is being trialled in Leeds and across West Yorkshire.
The police-led initiative aims to improve the safety and security of licences premises across the UK and aims to be rolled out across the country if the pilot is successful.
The initiative includes a female safety policy and improving operational security and management practices year-on-year and comes just two weeks after Leeds City Council introduced a female safety bus to aid nighttime safety in the city centre.
The city’s participation means the whole of West Yorkshire is now supporting the Licensing Security & Vulnerability Initiative, known as Licensing SAVI, with Bradford, Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees already signed up.
Each of the five areas will be encouraging 60 licensed venues to take part, making a total of 300 venues in West Yorkshire, as the county leads the national roll out of the scheme throughout England and Wales.
The Licensing SAVI initiative encourages venues to improve their operational security and management practices year on year using an online self-assessment, which includes all the police and council licensing information that venues need to meet statutory licensing requirements for safety and security.
Venues can be awarded a star-rating and apply for Licensing SAVI accreditation.
Image: Michael Discenz, Unsplash
The initiative covers drink spiking and injection incidents, as well as providing guidance around issues like responsible drinking, drugs misuse, violent behaviour and safeguarding vulnerable customers.
It also contains a female safety policy for venues to adapt for their own use, as well as physical security, such as emergency exits, lighting and CCTV systems. It is believed that most measures included in Licensing SAVI can be introduced quickly and at little or no cost.
The aim of the initiative is to provide safer and more secure venues for managers, staff, customers and local communities, whilst reducing the demand on Police Forces, NHS Ambulance Services and Accident and Emergency Departments. The scheme itself was developed at the request of the Home Office by Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Police CPI), a not-for-profit police organisation, which works alongside the Police Service throughout the UK to deter and reduce crime.
Councillor Debra Coupar, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for resources with responsibility for Safer Leeds, said:
"Leeds is proud of its prestigious Purple Flag status in Leeds city centre, which reflects the tremendous work being undertaken day-in, day-out by a range of partners to make the Leeds night-time economy more attractive, diverse and safe for all.
“We know that sometimes people, and in particular women and girls, can feel unsafe in the city at night and so we are determined to do all we can to tackle that.
“The Licensing SAVI pilot is another opportunity to work with and encourage operators to further raise standards, so people enjoy their experience, are safe and feel safe, and return."
The scheme comes after a YouGov poll found a total of 79% of adults agreed that they want safety improvements in nightclubs whilst 76% want improvements in bars and pubs. Support for this was greatest among women with 83% wanting improved safety in nightclubs and 81% of women in bars and pubs.
More information about the Licensing SAVI initiative can be found on their website.
Feature Image- Abbie Hartley, Unsplash
Leeds
Kirkstall Brewery and Little Bao Boy unveil new Leeds taproom
You know the venue, and you know the operators behind it, but things are looking a little different over on Sovereign Street.
Leeds' very own Kirkstall Brewery has teamed up with street food legends Little Bao Boy to totally reinvent the city centre taproom formerly known as North Taproom.
At the all-new The City Taproom, you'll find a way cosier space alongside their sun-soaked terrace, as they aim to reimagine a traditional city centre pub.
Across 16 tap lines there are loads of Kirkstall Brewery classics, like Kirkstall Pilsner, Virtuous and Judicious, plus a rotating selection of guest beers from top British breweries - and Guinness, of course.
The City Taproom will also feature two new cask lines: one serving Three Swords as a staple, and the other on rotation starting this month with Golden Hour.
There's a bigger kitchen for Little Bao Boy too, which means an even larger menu of bao and Asian street food, like loaded fries, noodles, and rice bowls.
Little Bao Boy was founded 10 years ago by James Ooi, specialising in home-made bao buns and traditional Asian street food with a contemporary western twist.
Kirkstall have injected the huge space with the traditional essence of a proper Kirkstall establishment, with that kind of cosy atmosphere you know them for at the brewery's other sites.
Little Bao Boy at City TaproomKirkstall Brewery pints and cocktails
This is yet another of the local brewery's openings in the city centre, joining their recent renovation of The Victoria & Commercial in partnership with Whitelocks, plus their stewardship of the historic Tetley brewery building.
James Ooi, founder of Little Bao Boy said: "We have been part of this venue since day one, through COVID, outside seating, and new owners, and we are so excited for this refurb.
"On the food side, expect more collaborations, faster service, and a better overall customer experience. We are extremely grateful Kirkstall saw the value in this refurb and can't wait to get back open."
Steve Holt, founder of Kirkstall Brewery, said: "We're delighted to unveil a new presentation for the Taproom on Sovereign Street.
"It has been named The City Taproom after a famous but long-gone Leeds pub known as ‘The City’, which was situated where the statue of the Dortmund Brewer now stands. Images of the original City pub are a feature in the new look City Taproom, which can best be described as a 're-imagination' of a traditional city-centre pub.
"The City Taproom celebrates Leeds and its rich pub and brewing heritage. We hope that it will become a popular addition to the amazing and diverse venues that make Leeds such a vibrant City for hospitality and entertainment."
It's all the bits you loved before, just a little bigger and a whole lot better.
The City Taproom opens at 3 Sovereign Street on Thursday 23 April.
The route for next year’s historic women’s Tour de France has been announced – and it all starts in Leeds
Danny Jones
The route for next year's women's historic Tour de France has been announced, with some of the best riders in the world set to begin the race from right here in Leeds.
Announced back in January, the 2027 Tour de France Femme avec Zwift will be making its British debut next year.
And this week, the full route has been revealed, which will all begin here in the race's host city of Leeds.
From here, riders will zip across through Yorkshire to Manchester, before turning back and heading down through the Peak District to Sheffield.
Around 230,000 people packed into the city centre to cheer the riders on their way during the Tour de France’s Grand Départ in 2014, with another two million spectators lining the rest of the race’s Yorkshire route. It's hoped that similar scenes will happen again this year.
It's yet another big coup for the region and Yorkshire's sporting scene.
Speaking with Manchester City Council earlier this week, Dame Sarah Storey joined many in celebrating another huge moment for us; the female Tour de France is not just back up and running, but aiming to become bigger than ever.
🚴♀️ The world’s best cyclists are heading to Manchester! 🚴♀️
The routes for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2027 have now been revealed, with Manchester set to host the Stage One finish on Friday 30 July and the Stage Two start on Saturday 31 July. pic.twitter.com/OMMlhdorqP
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) April 21, 2026
The Stockport-born swimmer turned Team GB cyclist and multi-Olympic gold medallist knows all about what makes this particular sport special, having swapped a previous and highly successful career for an entirely different discipline.
As has now been fully confirmed, the 2027 Grand Départ will be getting underway in Leeds, before heading through Yorkshire and on to our friends in Greater Manchester.
Spread across two incredible days, the race itself will finish in Sheffield, with another UK first happening down in London, as the capital will also host the inaugural team time trial held in this country.
You can see the official event's breakdown of what locations feature in which stages of 'The Big Loop' in more detail below.
Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: "We might be more than a year away from welcoming the Grand Départ of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift to Leeds, but there is already a good deal of excitement building around the event.
"Today’s route announcement will hopefully whet people’s appetites still further and get them thinking about where in the city they will be watching the race.
"We recognise that some residents and businesses will now have questions about how an occasion of this size could impact local communities on the day.
"They can be assured that we will be working hard alongside the race organisers to minimise any disruption and will also make every effort to keep people fully informed as plans for the event continue to take shape."
Sophie Smith -
16th March 2022 
