It's the most famous bar crawl in Leeds, pulling in sports fans from far and wide to take place in the legendary Headingley pub crawl- but nowit appears The Otley Run is under threat after some neighbours have raised concerns.
With eighteen pubs on the route, it's quite the challenge - and has become something of a famous rite of passage for the city's students, who can often be seen spotted taking part in wild and wacky fancy dress costumes.
And yet, over the past few years concerns from locals have continued to grow about the event - with some venues even going so far as to ban Otley runners from coming in when they're doing the pub crawl.
Last week, it all came to a head with a consultation being held between local politicians and members of the neighbourhood.
Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds North West, met with groups concerned about how the local event is growing 'exponentially' into a 'nationally-recognised event'.
The Weetwood Rose group says it is concerned that the run is becoming "a favourite for stag and hen parties and work outings where people are coached into the area in their hundreds."
On its website, it explains the growth of the run has "caused serious problems for residents and many local businesses."
It continues: "Parents with prams and those with mobility issues struggle to get through the waves of people walking down the street, reports of anti-social behaviour, public urination and sexual harassment have grown and many residents feel unsafe and intimidated to go out, even in the early afternoon.
"This is a situation that cannot be allowed to continue along the current course and we are taking action to see meaningful change.
"To achieve this, we have to explore several different avenues and potential interventions. So far we have met with Safer Leeds, Child Friendly Headingley and Women’s Lives Leeds to encourage a joined up approach to tackling this problem.
"We are meeting with licensing at the council to explore our statutory options. We are also inviting bars to participate in a round table to see what more could be done to support residents and to ensure a ‘code of conduct’ goes up in every pub. And we are meeting with the other local businesses to find out what extra support they need.
"We are supporting the police in their application for more patrols during peak times.
"We are looking at ways to reduce the number of coach trips and writing to businesses asking to end their advertising of the Otley Run."
Options discussed as part of the meeting included introducing a new 'code of conduct' in Otley Run pubs and introducing more police patrols.
In another hit to the high streets, Claire's Accessories is shutting up shop across the UK and Ireland after entering into administration yet again.
Falling into an unfortunate financial status for the second time in less than a year, Claire's will be shutting down all of their standalone stores across Britain, along with their IE branches.
A total of 154 stores will soon disappear, with more than a thousand people set to be put out of work.
Once a mainstay up and down the country, the accessory shop known for all things jewellery, piercings and more has ceased trading effective immediately.
Announced at the start of the week and the end of the first full month of Q2, it was confirmed that Claire's closed their final locations on Monday, 27 April.
With administrators, Kroll, appointed to wrap up business proceedings, an estimated 1,300 English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh workers have now lost their jobs.
Founded in America way back in 1961, Claire's has enjoyed a presence across the Atlantic for more than three decades.
However, with various other contemporaries and cheaper online options having appeared over the years, they've struggled not just to remain profitable but to compete full stop.
They filed for bankruptcy in the US in August 2025 after having already concluded operations in Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
For many, the outcome isn't all that surprising, but it will nevertheless be a sad loss for many who have seen multiple generations visit these venues over the years.
Slam Dunk festival’s statement in full as director steps down amid allegations
Daisy Jackson
Slam Dunk festival has shared a statement confirming one of its directors has stepped down, in the wake of allegations.
The popular punk festival takes place next month across two sites, one of which is here in Leeds.
This year's line-up is set to include headline performances from the likes of Good Charlotte, Knocked Loose, Sublime, and Taking Back Sunday.
But Slam Dunk has been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons this week after allegations against one of its directors came to light.
Slam Dunk said in its statement, which did not get into specifics about the nature of the allegations, that the festival 'remains committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all employees, partners, and customers'.
They added that the director has stepped down, but 'strongly refutes' the allegations.
The statement then promised 'transparency and honesty' and said that more updates would be provided when appropriate.
Slam Dunk wrote: "We are aware of allegations published yesterday relating to one of our directors. We take these allegations seriously and understand that they may be distressing and hard to process for our community.
"Our Slam Dunk fans, staff, and artists are, as always, our top priority.
"While he strongly refutes these allegations, the director in question has agreed, in consultation with the board, to step down from Slam Dunk operations while this matter is ongoing.
"Slam Dunk remains committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all employees, partners, and customers.
"Our values and culture are fundamental to how we operate, and we are committed to upholding them.
"It would be inappropriate for us to comment further on an ongoing legal matter.
"However, we promise transparency and honesty to our Slam Dunk community and will provide updates when it is appropriate to do so."
Slam Dunk returns to Temple Newsam in Leeds on Sunday 24 May.
Georgina Pellant -
1st July 2022 
