After almost 900 years, is this the end of the Lee Gap Fair?

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Today’s story looks at what happens when a fair that has been running for almost 900 years rubs up against an ever-growing city. The Lee Gap Fair was instituted by royal charter way back in 1136, but there was an important stipulation: it had to be held in the parish of Woodkirk. Back then, Leeds was a tiny hamlet and Woodkirk was mostly fields; now things look very different. So is this end for the fair?

First, though, it’s your regular round up of local stories.

The round-up

📶 The government’s planning inspectorate has weighed in to insist that a 17.5m tall phone mast to provide 5G should be constructed in Bradford, the Yorkshire Post reports. The council had originally ruled against the mast, saying its “excessive height” would cause “a substantial degree of harm to the visual amenity of the wider streetscene.” But that’s been overruled, after the inspector found there wasn’t a more suitable location for it.

👮 The national police watchdog has told West Yorkshire Police that they need to up their game when it comes to investigating crimes, reports the BBC, noting delays in allocating crimes to teams, and a backlog of cases with no-one responsible for taking action. The watchdog also found some cases were being closed when there were still possible lines of enquiry. But it wasn’t all bad news, with an increase in the percentage of crimes where a “positive outcome” (such as a charge or caution) were achieved.

💼Those of you who joined us early on may remember a story about Andrew Milne, a solicitor who bought a strip of land in Slaithwaite and began sending letters to nearby homeowners. Milne was arrested two months ago by South Yorkshire Police on suspicion of committing fraud and blackmail in relation to his letters to Sheffield homeowners. He has not yet been charged, and a police investigation is ongoing. On Monday, our sister title in Sheffield attended Private Eye's Paul Foot Award, after being shortlisted for their work on Milne. We'd love to do more of this important work in West Yorkshire, so get in touch if you've got something you think we should look into.

🩺 And some good news, after a pioneering cancer treatment was used by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to shrink a tumour using “robotic-guided electrochemotherapy” (BBC). Brenda Iveson, 92, received the procedure, which was the first of its kind in the UK and involves robotically guided needles surrounding a tumour to apply chemotherapy directly without damaging nearby vital organs. As a result, the tumour in her liver shrank by around 80%.

After almost 900 years, is this the end of the Lee Gap Fair?

By Thomas Barrett

The Lee Gap Fair is in Annemarie Nicholson’s blood. “My mum was watching the fair pull off when she got talking with my birth father,” she said. Two of her grandparents also met at the fair, and she was born in Hill Top, part of West Ardsley, the area where the Gypsy and Traveller horsefair has been held for almost 900 years.

So when she heard that it might have to end due to 289 homes being built on the fair’s site, it hit hard. “It’s devastating to me and my kin. It’s like losing a friend,” she told me.

Nicholson’s ancestors, the Jolly family, used to come and stay on Haigh Moor Road when the fair lasted for three weeks and three days. They settled in the area, and the other side of her family, who were Irish Travellers, came too and built lives for themselves in West Yorkshire.

The Lee Gap Fair is now held on two days: one in August known as the first Lee, and the second 24 days later in September, which is called the latter Lee. South Leeds is blessed with easy access to the M62 and M1 motorways, and Gypsy and Traveller families come far and wide to attend from Ireland, Kent and Wales, to catch up with friends, talk shop and buy and sell horses.

The history of the Lee Gap Fair has mirrored the development of Leeds itself over the centuries. But as the city continues to grow, one of its oldest traditions risks being left behind.