The funding award comes after Leeds City Council and the Morley Town Deal Board submitted a Town Investment Plan in July.
Morley has won full approval for £24.3m of Towns Fund grant following the submission of outline plans to the Government in July.
The Town Investment Plan featured a range of schemes to deliver on key priorities identified through public consultation.
Plans include new and improved public spaces for the community to enjoy, featuring significant development on the Town Square, Queen Street and local parks and playgrounds.
There will be significant upgrades to travel choices around Morley, with enhanced routes around town and better crossings and junctions to increase safety for pedestrians.
Image: Leeds Government
There's also an exciting plan for a White Rose Innovation Hub which will run alongside a new technology-focused skills campus run by Leeds City College. Both plans will create fantastic skills training and job opportunities for residents and businesses.
Other innovations include enhancing Morley's heritage buildings, bringing more events and activities to the town, and a new heritage grants scheme that will offer businesses the chance to invest in shop fronts and to restore buildings on Queen Street.
With the funding now confirmed, the exciting plans will now move to the design stage with initial project delivery expected to start in 2023. The delivery work is projected to last until 2026.
Image: Leeds Government
Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council’s executive member for infrastructure and climate, said: “I’m pleased that we have been able to deliver this funding approval for the people of Morley, and I want to congratulate everyone on the hard work that has already gone into the various projects.
“The Town Investment Plan is a real opportunity to build a better future for Morley. Not only will these plans bring essential health, environmental, and transport improvements and secure the town’s heritage, they will deliver excellent education and job opportunities for the future.
Image: Leeds Government
“However, the work to bring the Town Investment Plan to reality is far from over. I encourage everyone in Morley to get involved in future consultation to make the Town Deal a plan that rightly represents the views and needs of local people.”
Following the confirmation of funding, the Morley Town Deal Board and it's partners will hold a public drop-in event at Morley Town Hall for members of the public on Saturday 19 November 2022 between 11am and 1pm. Members of the public are encouraged to attend to find out more about the projects and to ask any questions they may have.
More information about the project can be found here on the Leeds Gov website.
In honour of National Chocolate Week, two big brands are joining forces.
Fancy a freebie? Silly question, of course you do.
Tony’s Chocolonely and Yorkshire Tea have joined forces for National Chocolate Week to ask Brits to declare themselves a ‘Melt’...yes, really.
It comes after the brands discovering a new Gen Z dunking trend, with research finding that 80% of 18–24-year-olds say chocolate is their preferred tea-dunking treat.
To understand why the perculiar pairing has become so popular, the brands recruited Associate Professor of Psychobiology, Dr Lorenzo Stafford, to investigate what happens when tea and chocolate come together.
Associate Professor, Dr Lorenzo Stafford said: "It's fascinating to see how much thought Brits put into what makes a great dunk. Flavour, texture and temperature all shape how we experience food, and the combination of hot tea with melting chocolate creates a particularly enjoyable sensory experience.
"When it comes to dunking, tea and chocolate have great chemistry so it’s no surprise young people have embraced it."
If you want to try it out for yourself, then you can for free - but there is one catch.
From Monday 19 to Friday 23 October, anyone who walks into one of Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds and says ‘I'm a Melt’ will get a free mug of Yorkshire Tea and bar of Tony's Chocolonely.
Not only that, but the first 100 customers will also get a limited-edition ‘Melt’ cap.
Yorkshire Tea & Tony’s Chocolonely said of the partnership, “Brits love their tea and their chocolate and now the science shows why. This National Chocolate Week, we’re inviting everyone to give it a go, embrace their inner Melt and discover just how well chunky chocolate and a proper brew can work together.”
Leeds Bradford Airport strikes will NOT go ahead following ‘late offer’ over pay
Clementine Hall
This weekend's strikes at Leeds Bradford Airport have been cancelled.
Around 130 workers were set to walk out this weekend, Unite said, but this has been suspended to allow air traffic controllers to consider a new pay offer.
The Unite members planning on to go on strike were a mixture of air traffic control workers, customer experience staff, security staff and cleaners.
The workers involved in the dispute had recently come out of a four-year pay deal, with some of the departments having fallen behind other airports in equivalent roles.
Pay talks have been happening since December 2025, with the airport's formal offer not going far enough to address the lack of pay parity which led to the decision to strike.
However, as of yesterday 15 October, the workers have been given new pay offers from the airport and the strikes will not take place to allow a ballot on the offers.
Air traffic controllers and hourly paid staff are being balloted separately on their respective offers.
Unite regional officer Neil Whitaker said: "After receiving offers from Leeds Bradford Airport, we have suspended this week’s strike action in good faith to allow members to vote on pay deals.”
In a statement, Leeds Bradford Airport said: "While the ballot process continues with certain members of our frontline colleagues, we remain hopeful that a positive outcome can be achieved and that an agreement can be reached which works for everyone involved.
"Regardless of the outcome of this ballot, LBA has a robust contingency plan in place and will be operating as normal this weekend.
"Our focus remains on supporting a smooth and reliable experience for customers while maintaining safe and efficient airport operations."
Clementine Hall -
10th October 2022 
