Yorkshire's foodie capital is hosting Meadowfest, a day-long music festival this year.
Almost 3000 festival-goers flocked to Malton last year for the musical celebrations, and this year is expected to journey across Yorkshire to the festival.
Taking place on Saturday 30 July 2022, indie rock band, The Feeling, will headline the event.
Image: Georgie Pearman
Taking to the stage to perform fan favourites such as Fill My Little World and Never Be Lonely, as well as music from their brand-new album, Loss. Hope. Love, which is due for release in May 2022, The Feeling expects to draw crowds from near and far to the day festival after frontman Dan Gillespie joined the West End.
The band has been on a hiatus since 2016 but following on from the success of his hit musical Everyone’s Talking About Jamie in the West End, frontman Dan Gillespie Sells found himself inspired to write again for the quintet during lockdown in 2020.
Meadowfest will be one of the band’s first appearances performing their new work.
The Feeling band. / Image: Andy Hughes
Elsewhere in the day, festival-goers will have the chance to watch Malton Meadowfest favourites' HUGE and Hyde Family Jam perform, with support from Alistair Griffin and New York Brass Band.
Those who have previously revelled at the music festival will be delighted to also hear of the return of Flat Cap Carnival on the Hay Bale Stage, with additional acts likeGeorge Rowell, Maggie Wakeling, Nick Rooke, Simon Snaize and many more expected to perform in July.
The complete line-up will be announced later this year.
Levi Roots on stage at the 2021 festival. / Image: Visit Malton
Malton is nationally known for its food and drink options, and so this festival will continue to demonstrate the flavours that give the town the status "a foodie's Glastonbury".
As well as Meadowfest, Malton is set to host multiple food festivals throughout the year.
This year, expect a huge array of unique stalls with tasty treats and gorgeous gifts, celebrity chef talks and demonstrations, live music and fun for all the family. The exact line-up is yet to be announced, but across the six day event, visitors can expect only the best of home-grown goods to be in attendance.
The 2021 event was the first three-day Food Lovers Festival since Malton’s festival beginnings over a decade ago. Both 2022 events will take place over three days thanks to the support that last year’s festival received.
One of Leeds’ most iconic buildings is set to be brought back to life.
Plans for a brand-new padel and leisure destination at The Roundhouse on Wellington Road have been approved by Leeds City Council’s West Plans Panel.
Consent has been granted for Ollo Padel to transform the Grade II* listed Roundhouse into a state-of-the-art sport, fitness, food, drink and community venue subject to conditions and completion of a Section 106 agreement.
Built in 1847 for the Leeds and Thirsk Railway Company, The Roundhouse was once home to the steam locomotives that powered industrial Victorian Leeds. In recent years, the building has stood largely unused.
Image: Supplied
The approved plans will restore and protect the landmark building and give the site a new, long-term future as one of the city’s most distinctive leisure destinations.
The three-acre site, located on the edge of Leeds city centre, will include nine outdoor doubles padel courts under a 10-metre canopy, plus a dedicated indoor coaching court within The Roundhouse itself.
At the heart of the site will be the Ollo Clubhouse; built around an all-day kitchen and bar, it will combine a comfortable lounge and co-working space, meeting rooms and live sport and events spaces.
The kitchen and bar will be run in partnership with Southbank Provisions, the independent Leeds hospitality team behind Headrow House, Belgrave Music Hall and Galleria whilst the gym will be operated by fitness and performance specialists Northbound, who will bring strength and conditioning practice, Hyrox training and pilates classes to The Roundhouse.
Image: Supplied
Construction is expected to begin later this year, with the venue aiming to open in early 2027.
Luke Gidney, Founder & CEO Ollo Padel: "This is a huge day for Leeds, for The Roundhouse and for Ollo. The Roundhouse has been part of the city’s story for nearly 180 years. It’s an incredible building but it needs people, energy and purpose again. Our plan is to bring it back to life as a place where people can play, eat, work, meet friends and feel part of something.
"Padel is growing so quickly because it’s fun, social and easy to pick up. But for us, this is about more than just the courts. We want Ollo to become a proper community destination for Leeds, somewhere welcoming, joyful and full of life.
"We’re incredibly grateful to Leeds City Council’s planning team, our case officer, the wider council team and everyone who has supported the project to this point. This has been a complex project but the sport and engagement throughout has been brilliant. Now the real work starts and we cannot wait to open the doors for you.”
New study crowns Leeds as one of the friendliest cities in the UK
Clementine Hall
New research has revealed a global ranking of cities with the best customer service, with Leeds taking one of the top spots.
If you've been wondering which cities across the world are the friendliest of them all, then look no further because MoneySuperMarket have done the work for us in a new study.
In a world where social media culture plays a huge part in people's lives, online customer reviews are pretty important to local businesses.
To uncover the global locations that are home to the best customer service, the businesses insurance experts analysed over 100,000 reviews of leisure and hospitality businesses in 107 cities worldwide.
They looked at the language in the reviews to see how often friendly workers and staff were mentioned, building a global ranking of the cities where customer service truly stands out.
Out of a whopping 107, Leeds came in at a very respectable number 12. Now we think that's pretty good going.
Outside of the UK, Hanoi, Paris, Montreal and Abu Dhabi were highlighted for their friendly customer service whilst Edinburgh tops the global ranking, with Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol also making the world’s top 10.
The top 10 cities in the UK with the best customer service are as follows:
Edinburgh
Liverpool
Birmingham
Bristol
Belfast
Leeds
Glasgow
Cardiff
Manchester
London
Alicia Hempsted spoke on the study: “As businesses grow and engage with more customers, it’s important to make sure they’re protected. Public liability insurance is an important safeguard for those working with the public, helping to cover costs if something goes wrong, while also showing customers that their experience is taken seriously - from the moment they walk through the door to long after they’ve left.”
Sophie Smith -
18th March 2022 
