For the first time ever, Kirkstall Abbey has announced it will be charging tourists an entry free.
Out-of-town visitors to the 12th-century monastery will be asked to pay £5 to gain admittance as the cash-strapped council looks for new ways to raise funds.
Kirkstall Abbey is a hugely popular tourist attraction for those who live close to Leeds, and it's expected that the charge could raise an additional £160,000 for the council
Admission for local residents, meanwhile, will continue to be free - with Loiners now being asked to provide proof of address with them when they visit.
Read more:Kirkstall Abbey claps back at review that complains it has “no roof”
The council has been told it needs to save £64.5m next year but has promised to put some of the funds raised back into the 870-year-old site.
Plans for improvement at Kirkstall Abbey include a new on-site cafe and new audio tours, which the new fees will help pay for.
Leeds city council deputy leader Jonathan Pryor said that Kirkstall Abbey was a "treasured part of the city's heritage" and that the council's finances had required it to come up with "innovative and creative ways" to protect the site.
He added that the council had "consulted broadly with the public both in and out of Leeds".
However, some families have vowed to 'boycott' the abbey over the news that an admission fee will be charged.
Initially, the fee was going to be set at £8 but following consultations that showed it to be unpopular it was dropped to £5 instead.
The abbey was first built by monks in 1152 on gifted land and was used as a residence until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539.
Today it might appear as a ruin, leading one visitor to complain last summer that it 'has no roof', but in spite of this it is still considered to be one of the most complete Cistercian monasteries in Britain.
Feature image – Tim Green
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Leeds pizza shop hailed ‘exceptional’ and ‘best in the UK’ by major reviewer
A Leeds pizza takeaway has received a glowing review from popular review duo.
Edges Pizza opened up their first permanent spot in Leeds back in June this year, after making a name for themselves slinging out pizzas at multiple pop-ups across the city.
Owners Grace and Edge from Harrogate opened Edges Pizza two years ago, taking inspiration from trips to New York over the years.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Their pizzas are a love letter to the class New York slice, think thin and crispy rather than chewy and floppy. But above all else, think absolutely delicious.
And now, they've caught the attention of a major review page, with Bite Twice Food Reviews (a page with almost 300k followers) paying Edges a visit.
The food review duo of Gerry del Guercio and Paul Delany popped up in Holbeck beneath the arches to get their hands on a pizza, and the outcome is brilliant.
In the video, Bite Twice said that the pizza is 'f**cking exceptional' and up there with 'one of the best pizzas in the UK'.
Before even taking a bite, they said: "On aesthetic, I don't think anywhere in the UK is doing pizza like this".
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Then after the first bite, they go on to say: "There are very few pizzas in the UK that create this, I’m a little bit blown away".
As Londoners themselves, they go on to say that Edges is 'easily hitting with the best that we’ve got down south'.
And if that's not high praise enough, they sign off the video saying: "Leeds has got an absolute gem. I give this a stamp so hard my foot went through the pizza. Edges. Don Level."
Yorkshire-set Christmas film by Leeds director starring Richard E. Grant set to hit UK cinemas next month
Clementine Hall
A brand-new Christmas film is hitting cinemas nationwide next month - and it’s a proper Leeds success story.
Jack Spring directed his first feature film at just 19 years old and has spent the last decade carving out a career in independent film, as well as co-founding Leeds-based production company Shush Films.
His first movie, Destination: Dewsbury, was shot just down the road in - you guessed it - Dewsbury. And after moving to Leeds from Grimsby, Jack became determined to build his business from the city, putting down roots and growing his production company here.
Image: Supplied
Now, after years of working on independent projects, Jack has taken his biggest leap yet with a brand-new Christmas film, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint.
Set in Yorkshire, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint follows Aubrey Flint, a reclusive model soldier painter with a lifelong hatred of Christmas, who is sentenced to community service at Willow Lodge - a retirement home on the brink of closure.
Roped into helping with a chaotic production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Aubrey clashes with its interesting set of residents...
And the cast is about as star-studded as it gets, featuring Richard E. Grant, John Bradley, Celia Imrie, Adjoa Andoh, Sophia Di Martino, Adrian Rawlins and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
Image: Supplied
The heartwarming festive comedy will hit cinemas nationwide on Friday 6 November - a huge milestone for a Leeds-based director and production company, taking a homegrown Yorkshire story to audiences across the country.
You just can't beat a proper wholesome British Christmas film, so you can best believe we'll be watching in the cinema, popcorn in hand.
Georgina Pellant -
11th May 2022 
