This café is in the centre of the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Community Centre. It is a hub of…read moreactivity for the Leeds Jewish Housing Association and is a bustling and lively place filled with chatter. The tall ceiling does make for a reverberating of this hubbub of noise so this may be isn't the best place for a quiet coffee. The café gets very busy at lunch time where it serves food in a very canteen-like manner and it isn't a particularly cheap place to eat but people do flock here.

Having lived in Leeds for quite a number of years now, I am ashamed to admit that I only recently…read morewent to the Cardigan centre for the first time. Set up in the late '80's to house small businesses and as a general space for the community to have meetings and such, it employs around 30 members of staff who run it. Rooms are available to hire our at an hourly rate. The rooms are simple, with enough chairs to host 40 people, a white board and a sink. They charge anywhere between 9 and 14 pounds, depending on whether you are using the room for community of business based events.

Often overlooked by residents of LS6, Woodhouse Community Centre is a fantastic resource, providing…read morea permanent base for voluntary and charitable organisations, a meeting place for societies and groups and a venue for a diverse range of weekly clubs teaching everything from theatre and language to juggling.

Community, community, community. Starting from the very grassiest of grassroots Oblong has survived…read moreyears of battles against bad landlords and the difficulties of securing funding to finally squeezing its way into Woodhouse Community Centre gaining better space provision for its large spread of activities as well as bigger platform from which to demonstrate a none-hierarchical organisation. You pay to become a member then have access to very good sources of IT and knowledge. You can volunteer to help on various projects from green space improvement to helping on the administration side of things or begin your own community-minded project. This is a fantastic place to learn new skills or just as a space to think away from the home or library environments.

Oblong is an excellent community resource centre near to Hyde Park. As soon as you walk in, you…read morefeel comfortable, and there's plenty of things to get involved in. For example, there is a bicycle maintenance workshop, an art group, computer lessons, and yoga classes. See their website for everything you can get involved in. The co-op food group is a terrific idea too.

What with being let down once again by Virgin Media, I had to seek solace on such a rainy day as…read moreyesterday, with coffee and wifi. There's a number of spots about town in which to laze the day away with a supply of reasonable coffee, but since The Bowery is so close and it's been so long, I decided to set up here for lunch and respite from the rains. As far as I can tell, the place has gone from strength to strength, providing in-numerous excellent artistic courses for folks to partake of, alongside their range of fresh lunchables and gift-shop-cum-gallery. The programme of lessons looks fantastic, offering up everything from jewellery making to knitting, and browsing the hand crafted gifts about the cafe reveals a wealth of local talent and passion. I hadn't intended to purchase anything (one never does) but couldn't help be drawn in by some of the kitsch and quirky little items. The staff, as ever, are mega friendly, which makes a visit all the nicer. I decided to try the spinach and ricotta quiche, which comes with a sizeable plate of salad on the side. I have to say, whilst the quiche didn't make my mouth sing, the accompanying salad more than made up for this in flavour - the dressing was mouth watering, and the mix of sultanas, sesame seeds and such made this a healthy taste sensation. You can grab a decent sized latte for about £2, a pot of tea which yielded a few cups for the same, and of course the wifi is free. It's not coffee comparable to the likes of Bottega or Laynes, but the space more than makes up for this -and I'm not complaining, it was a good cup of Joe. The atmosphere defines relaxed, and with the array of art and crafts on the walls and in the cabinets, you're not short on excellent things to look at and ponder. The gallery and classroom space is upstairs, and whilst I didn't have an opportunity to wander around, I'll have to come back soon for a peek. I read also that the classroom space is available for hire for most art-related activities, for as little as £5 an hour I believe, which is fantastic for the local community. It's also worth noting that the toilet even has a mini seat that you can pull down, should you have kidlets in your company, which is a lovely touch. Overall, I'm a big fan of this place, and hope that Headingley continues to support independents like this. More of this, please Headingley. Get your senses open and your art head on.

The Bowery is more than just a cafe. Here you can also find art exhibition space, a classroom for…read moreworkshops and an impressive selection of cards and gifts. It's split across two floors and, while the upper floor is light and airy the lower floor feels a little cramped. Possibly because the lower floor contains the cafe and the gift shop but it does seem to work. Naturally, the gallery space is a little quieter but it's a lovely space and I really enjoyed wandering around and looking at the exhibits. It looks like the workshops room is really well used. A group was finishing a crafting workshop as we arrived and the website advertises further workshops as well as a series of short courses that starts in September and a variety of other events. We didn't stay for food but they're certainly popular, which has to be a good sign, and the cakes look great. I'd be tempted to return for a coffee and some treats but even if these turn out to be less than the best in the area The Bowery is doing a great job of pulling together a creative community in Headingley. They describe themselves as The Home of Creativity and I think that that suits them very well.

Working as a central point for community groups this building was established not to run resources…read morebut to supply the actual infrastructure needed to run dedicated working community groups from. In other words the building provided workstations and a quality working environment for community groups as well as good environment for fragmented, vulnerable or disenfranchised members of the community to seek help from. Groups in the centre include help for asylum seekers and refugees, South Leeds Health for All, Community Action and Support Against Crime and Leeds Development Education Centre.

Despite looking like a bank (it's housed in an old Barclay's building), the Roundhay Road Resource…read moreCentre is in fact a lively hub and an important resource for the community. The idea is to provide a one-stop shop for community services, offering reasonably priced office accommodation to groups working in the social sector. In practice, this means that individuals looking for support can come here and have many of their needs under the same roof. When I visited, it was still new and many of the spaces were unfilled, but already the atmosphere was warm, communal and engaging. Anyone who entered the building was made to feel welcome, which is especially good considering many of the groups operating from here work with vulnerable people, and there were plenty of staff on hand to advise and assist. They are currently advertising for more services to set up their offices here, and in my opinion any groups with social or environmental aims would benefit from being part of this community.

Shopmobility is one of those facilities that you never really know you need until you need them…read more And when you do need them, you're lucky if there's a place dedicated to mobility facilities in your shopping vicinity. Leeds' Shopmobility is located in the Merrion Centre, one of the city centre shopping malls, and although it's a bit of a walk from the train station, there's the free access bus that drops you off right outside the Merrion Centre, so it's not too much of a transport issue. Plus if you are someone, or with someone who requires any of the Shopmobility facilities, like motorised chairs and such, if you get in touch with the centre, they will meet you at the parking bay. Pretty cool service. Pre book, and there's access to wheelchairs both manual and motorised and motorised scooters. Maybe not the coolest thing to write about but it's an excellent service. It runs Monday through Saturday, 9.30am - 4.30pm.

It's a bit odd writing a review for a building that I never actually used during my student years,…read morewhich admittedly were some time ago, but having frequented the Union in recent years I thought I'd add my two penneth. (I was one of the old school chaps based at Bretton Hall back in the day.) For students, this is a fantastic hub. There are tons of spots to purchase lunch, coffees, and of course a beer or several, many of which being good quality. I've had my fair share of pasties and the like and have always managed to find something tasty to grab swiftly when in need. The refectory does the job nicely, but there's a small flurry of shops in another area where you can pick and choose from a number of other options. As well as that there are so many events that are housed in the space. Judy's Vintage Fair regularly make an appearance, and if you've not seen or heard of those guys you're missing a trick -they're a fantastic vintage fair company who hold regular lovely festivities, so keep an eye out! There's also the club nights, Wendy House and Rock Of Ages are two that I've enjoyed aplenty, with drink offers and all of that sort of gubbins. As a student, post-grad, mature student and even someone totally un-related to the University, it's a good place to check out. So, yes. I'm a fan. Beware though, it's quite labyrinthine.

Before I start I should state that this is just a review of Stylus, the club within LUU, rather…read morethan a review of the entire Union itself. Stylus is a massive venue inside the union, and plays host to big bands and DJ's fairly frequently, as well as providing students wit randomly themed nights such as silent discos and the like. The best thing about Stylus, however, is it's regular weekend nights - Fruity on Friday and the less frequent Wax On on Saturdays. While Wax On plays house music and all its siblings, Fruity is more of a free for all in terms of both music and actual events. Wax On often 'presents' big names in the DJ world - Simian Mobile Disco being the most recent example of this, and as such, prices are usually steeper than the £4 Fruity night. To me, Fruity is the perfect student night, and has been for many years, mainly because it keeps it simple - good music, good people, good cheap booze, and very few idiots - it's most definitely worth going, student or not.