The news came on Friday that an application to turn the former Elinor Lupton Centre into a licensed premises serving 500+ customers at a time has been refused. The full story is covered here in the Yorkshire Evening Post.

This is welcome news, given how strongly local people have objected to turning the Elinor Lupton Centre into a mega-pub. Headingley is already very well-provided with licensed premises, and the council has recognised their negative impact on local people through the Cumulative Impact Policy. This establishes a presumption against adding any new pubs to the area, and it is good to see that the policy was respected on this occasion.

Meanwhile, the building itself is now in an appalling state, and getting worse by the day. Local campaigner Penny Goodman has called on Wetherspoons, who now own the building, to take responsibility for its current condition and clean up the graffiti which is plastered all over it – but they refused. This is a Grade II listed building which could be a huge asset to our community. We can only hope that a positive use for the building, which respects the needs and interests of local people, can be found soon.