The BACIL Awards 2022 are set to return bigger and better than ever this year after a two-year hiatus.
BACIL (Business Against Crime in Leeds) is a dedicated organisation protecting businesses both in retail and the night-life industry in Leeds.
Their aim is to make the city a safer place for both consumers and staff who work in the hospitality and retail sectors.
The awards were created back in 2015 to recognise outstanding achievements and shine a light on the businesses that consistently go the extra mile.
The awards for both the daytime and night-time sector include best security team, best national venue, best independent venue, best BACIL partnership, and outstanding BACIL contribution.
BACIL launched in 2005 in partnership with the West Yorkshire Police, Leeds City Council and Safer Leeds. They now have over 420 members who strive to prevent and reduce criminality and antisocial behaviour on the streets of Leeds.
The BACIL awards 2022 will take place on Monday 10 October at one of Leeds’ most historic venues, the Faversham, and will be hosted by former LDC Radio Leeds presenters Terry George and Drag Queen Precious McMichael’s.
Image: Supplied
Seal Walker, head of BACIL, said: “BACIL and its members play a vital part in the reduction of crime in our city, by working together and sharing information, they help prevent crime with the overall aim of creating a safer city-centre in which to live, work and play.
"BACIL also works closely with Leeds City Pubwatch, which is a voluntary organisation set up to promote partnership working & best practice for pubs, bars & club premises. Its aim is to achieve a safer drinking environment in all licensed premises throughout the UK."
This year the awards will adopt a more informal approach, incorporating a relaxing, fun and interactive atmosphere which will bring light to an industry that has faced such hardship over the past couple of years.
Image: Supplied
The awards have been sponsored by NDML, leading specialist insurance brokers for nightclubs, bars, pubs, restaurants, and hotels.
Victoria Romero - Trigo, director of NDML said: "We are proud to be supporting this year’s awards. Our business is all about protecting the night-time industry. It's been a really tough couple of years for the sector, and so the awards are the perfect way to celebrate the great work the people in the hospitality industry have achieved and continue to do so.”
The BACIL awards will support the Leeds Community Foundation as their nominated charity this year; to date the awards have raised over £7,000 for supported charities in the city since 2015.
Read more about the amazing organisation and their work here.
A Yorkshire-born and bred artist and his creative team have earned the huge honour of creating the official FIFA scarf collection for this year's World Cup.
Nothing short of massive for anyone from our part of the world.
The local legend in question is Tom Pitts, who was born in Sheffield and is now based just beyond Leeds, leading the campaign right from the helm.
Hand Drawn Pixels is a graphic design and digital studio based in Otley, and while you'll see plenty of folks wearing football shirts and even the odd scarf on the town's famous pub crawl, these lot are venturing on an entirely different kind of run this summer.
In fact, the work has very much already started, with Tom and co. collaborating directly with FIFA and US manufacturers, Global Scarves, to create the World Cup collection.
With this year's tournament obviously taking place across America, Mexico and Canada, they've joined up with a big LLC, but they describe themselves as "a true English custom scarf company with American parents."
In their words, "We knit scarves for clients all over the world", with a presence both near Leeds and over in Seattle, Washington.
The fixtures themselves kick off next month (England's first game coming against Croatia on 17 June), and so Hand Drawn Pixels have been hard at work meeting the briefs for each of the nations taking part.
Here's a quick breakdown of how the opportunity came about, their vision for the project, and how everything starts for them as a whole process.
You can see more of their work HERE, but as the brand name would suggest, it's pretty simple to begin with: nothing more than a pencil.
It's worth noting that the 2026 World Cup also featured the largest number of teams in the competition's history: 48 qualified national squads, to be exact. So, technically, they've had even more designing to do than they theoretically would have in any of the previous years, too.
Tom confessed that winning this bid is obviously a big deal on its own and that seeing his creations being worn in person by supporters at the stadiums will be a "surreal" experience.
Speaking exclusively with The Hoot, he said: "It’s been an amazing creative challenge for us to truly reflect the individuality and diversity of the nations competing in this prestigious tournament on such an iconic product as the football scarf."
He went on to add that "the whole project has been a huge learning experience, gaining deeper cultural insight into every nation involved."
We can't wait to cast eyes upon a sea of colour and finely crafted fabric in unique but somehow universally familiar patterns, all designed right here in 'God's Own Country'.
Leeds city centre set for hundreds of new flats after council agrees sale of ‘prime’ development site
Clementine Hall
It looks like even more new flats could be popping up in Leeds city centre.
The land in question is located near Leeds' Aire Park development, next to The Adelphi Pub in a prime location smack bang in the city centre.
It's looking like over 240 flats could be built on the site after the council has agreed to sell the coveted plot of land to a housing developer.
The current land that is surrounded by heritage assets has been sold by Leeds City Council to property developer Glenbrook.
A planning application from Glenbrook proposed mostly 246 one and two bedroom apartments in a whopping 24 storey development.
Around 20% of the homes would be classified as affordable housing, being rented out at 80% of the current private market rate.
The application will be discussed when the council's City Plans Panel meets next Thursday 14 May.
A council planning officer’s report said: “The emerging proposals present a significant opportunity to regenerate a prominent vacant brownfield site within the city centre.
“The development would deliver a substantial number of new homes, alongside the provision of some employment opportunities.”
A council decision report when selling the plot back in 2022 said: “It is surrounded by heritage assets in an area undergoing rapid regeneration and is widely considered to be a prime plot capable of supporting a high quality residential development.”
Well then Leeds, what do you make of these plans then?
Clementine Hall -
5th October 2022 
