A bird's-eye view of Leeds, Sheffield, and Yorkshire
X
Leeds
Kirkstall Brewery has taken over The Tetley building
“It really is the crown jewel of brewing history in Leeds, and we are deeply grateful for the opportunity to make it a landmark of Yorkshire beer culture once again.”
Kirkstall Brewery has announced that it is taking on the lease of The Tetley building.
The plan is to make it a hub for great beer from Leeds and renew its status as a “landmark of Yorkshire beer culture”.
‘The Tetley’ building itself is the former brewing headquarters of Tetley’s Brewery, and having spent the last decade as an arts and gallery space (until the end of 2023), it is now planned to return to its beer heritage roots.
Kirkstall Brewery will operate onsite from May onwards, showcasing local beers, including, but not exclusively, the brand's own beers, including Leeds Brewery and owner Steve Holt’s most recent acquisition, North (formerly known as North Brewing Co).
Image: Supplied
The news comes just days after the team behind The Tetley, the announced that they have still not been able to find a new permanent home since leaving The Tetley building in 2023 as it finished its 10-year lease.
“It’s a tremendous privilege to bring Leeds’s most iconic brewery building into the Kirkstall fold,” said Steve Holt, Kirkstall Brewery’s owner and founder. “As a brewery that pays a great deal of respect to the history of brewing in the city, we believe we are the ideal custodians for the next chapter of this legendary building.”
Michael Cronin, Head of Portfolio at Vastint UK, the developer behind Aire Park and owners of The Tetley building, said: “Last year we outlined our ambitions to safeguard this iconic building for the next 100 years and have now submitted our plans to the council. Since we became custodians of the building, it was always our intention to keep it open until the restoration work got underway to bring this fantastic building up to 21st century standards.
"So, we’re thrilled to be welcoming Kirkstall Brewery to Aire Park and to be bringing one of the current generations of Leeds and Yorkshire breweries to a site which has played such a pivotal role in the history of beer making in the region.
“The Tetley will form the centre piece of Aire Park, alongside the eight-acre public park and this collaboration will hopefully give the people of Leeds a small taster of what’s to come in the very near future.”
Holt added: “It really is the crown jewel of brewing history in Leeds, and we are deeply grateful for the opportunity to make it a landmark of Yorkshire beer culture once again.”
The Tetley is expected to reopen under Kirkstall’s management in May.
About The Tetley
The brewery was founded by Joshua Tetley in 1822, when he bought the site for a mere £400. A few years later in 1839 he made his son, Francis William a partner, creating Joshua Tetley and Son.
Construction of the new brewery began in 1852 and by 1860, Tetley was the largest brewery in the North of England. By 1875, annual beer production had reached a whopping 171,500 barrels.
Built in the Art Deco style in 1931. In the 1980s, Tetley’s Brewery became the largest producer of cask ale in the world, and the site has remained an icon of Leeds beer history, even after its closure in 2011.
The space was used as contemporary art gallery from 2013 until 2023, called The Tetley, when its lease ended.
West Yorkshire's very own Jane McDonald is coming to First Direct Arena in Leeds for a hometown show that's set to be spellbinding.
Making her British TV screen debut nearly 30 years ago on The Cruise, before joining the Loose Women panel and going on to present a whole host of travel shows including Cruising with Jane McDonald, now this Wakefield legend returns to First Direct Arena.
This latest tour titled after her 2026 LP Living The Dream, will see Jane singing hits from both past and present including a couple covers too.
Earlier this year, Jane's Mighty Hoopla performance went viral online after she commanded the stage in a red leather jacket, donning a singular rainbow hair extension while belting out RAYE's 'Where Is My Husband!'
Audio North even got the opportunity to interview this legendary lady when she visited her hometown HMV store in Wakefield for an exclusive album signing - Oh look, it's me!
The Wakefield wonder-woman's latest album Living The Dream was released in March and considering the tour is named after this impressive LP, we're sure fans can expect to hear quite a few tracks from this album.
Living The Dream
I'll Not Be Beaten
You Don't Know What You Got
Don't Mind If I Do
The Hand That Leads Me
Ain't Gonna Beg
I Will Always Love You
Islands in the Stream
Jolene
9 to 5
You're My World
Where Is My Husband!
Let the Light In
Cake by the Ocean
Jai Ho!
APT.
Right Where I Belong
How Do I Move On
Beautiful Soul
All By Myself
You Still Lead Me
Of course, Jane also loves to cover a tune or two, and we'll never forget her renditions of 'Cake By The Ocean', 'Jai Ho' or 'APT.'.
What are the stage times for Jane McDonald in Leeds?
The doors for Jane McDonald's Living The Dream Tour in Leeds are set for 6pm with the event set to start at 7.30pm.
First Direct Arena has a curfew of 11pm meaning you have enough time to dash home and eat 'Cake by the (Sofa)' before ringing in the new day.
How to get to First Direct Arena
Bus Station
Located on Dyer Street next to Leeds City Bus Station and approx. 15min walk from first direct arena and is wheelchair friendly.
Support and help for any persons with a disability is available as the station is a registered ‘Safe place’ to come into and ask for assistance.
Nearest Bus Stops
Clay Pit Lane
Wade Lane/Lovell Park Road
Woodhouse Lane
Nearest Train Station
Leeds City Station on New Station Street is around a 15min walk from first direct arena and a major hub on the national, regional and local rail network providing connections to a wide variety of destinations.
Parking
There are over 7,500 car parking spaces within a 15-minute walk of the arena. The arena doesn’t have it’s own car park however there are lots of options nearby. To receive 5% off Q Park when attending a show at first direct arena click here
The nearest Car Park with EV charging is located on Albion Street click here.
None of the above car parks are operated by the arena so for questions, queries or comments we ask that you contact the companies directly.
Hiring Bikes in Leeds
If you’re looking to hire a bike in Leeds, here are some of the best options you can try:
Beryl bikes – you’ll find the ‘Leeds City Bikes’ from Beryl stationed throughout the city. These are all e-bikes, and they’re available to hire on a pay-as-you-go basis. It costs £1 to unlock the bikes, and then 16p per minute to use them. We’d say these are great for zipping around the city and getting from A to B.
Talio – for a wider selection of electric bikes to choose from, Talio based at Buslinthorpe Green is a great option. From this company, you can hire cruiser bikes, mountain bikes, and cargo bikes. Prices start from £20 per day for rental, but if you’re hiring for a month or longer you’ll get a good discount.
The independent Leeds cafe speaking up after massive coffee chain opens opposite
Daisy Jackson
An independent bakery and coffee shop in Leeds has spoken out after a huge chain opened its doors opposite her cafe.
Savannah Roqaa, owner of The Savvy Baker, has said that she's on a mission to overtake the sales of Blank Street, the massive matcha chain that opened just metres away within weeks of her new site.
She said that while her brand is best-known for its baked goods, they also specialise in high-quality matcha - something Sav says wasn't in good supply in Leeds at the time she opened.
And now she's publicly spoken out about her mission to tempt people away from the big chain and into her independent business.
In a video shared online, Sav has been inviting customers leaving Blank Street to swap their matcha for one of hers, free of charge.
She then remakes the white chocolate matcha herself, but using quality Callebaut white chocolate, melting real chocolate into the drink.
The customer in the video says: "You can tell, it's way sweeter and like actually white chocolate tasting. And the matcha is greener, which is better."
Sav from The Savvy Baker has spoken of her mission to overtake Blank StreetMatcha from The Savvy Baker in Leeds
Sav said: "So when we signed the lease on literally the biggest risk ever, which is this huge shop in Leeds city centre, we had absolutely no idea that Blank Street were opening their biggest store in the entire world across the road.
"They are a global brand that is obviously very very popular, and we just wanted to try and at least match their sales."
She said that she's heard Blank Street sells 5,000 drinks every single week and is hoping to increase sales at The Savvy Baker enough to match.
Sav said: "Last week we sold 890 drinks. We've converted one, so that is 4,109 more people to convert...
"But we have a lot more tricks up our sleeve, so follow along to see if we can do it. And we would massively appreciate any support that you can give us."
Sophie Smith -
15th March 2024 
