Angry Gipton residents decided that 15 months was long enough to wait for their new community centre. So members of St Wilfrid’s Residents Association made placards and staged a demonstration outside the block of flats in St Wilfrid’s Avenue in July 1988 an attempt to get the work started on converting them into a centre for the community and for adult education. The association’s chairman Susan McNalus said the keys to the flats had been handed to the city’s education department more than a year ago and residents were certain the centre would soon be a reality. But although £40,000 had been allocated for the conversion, nothing had yet been done. The story was one of a number dominating the local news headlines around Gipton during the 1980s. And these photos digitised from the Yorkshire Evening Post archive for the first time showcase life around the suburb during the decade. It brings into focus local landmarks as well as reflections on the changes and challenges faced by locals. READ MORE: 21 thought-provoking photos take you back to Gipton in the 1990s LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook YEP RETRO NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our free monthly email digest of Leeds nostalgia
1. Gipton in the 1980s
July 1988 and members of St Wilfrid's Residents Association demonstrate outside the block of former council flats in St Wilfrid's Avenue. | YPN Photo: YPN
2. Gipton in the 1980s
Traffic was held up and gardens were flooded by a 40ft fountain when a water main burst on Foundry Lane in March 1983. | YPN Photo: YPN
3. Gipton in the 1980s
Tale of woe in April 1980... a boarded up council house on Gipton Square. | YPN Photo: YPN
4. Gipton in the 1980s
Do you remember these shops on Coldcotes Circus? Pictured in October 1982. | YPN Photo: YPN
5. Gipton in the 1980s
June 1980 and the roundabout at the junction of Amberton Road and Oak Tree Drive was praised for its safety record. | YPN Photo: YPN
6. Gipton in the 1980s
December 1986 and residents on the Gipton estate were on course for a head-on crash with council chiefs. They said the council painted new road markings to alter Coldcotes Drive from a dual carriageway to a two-way road, putting pedestrians and drivers at risk. But highways chiefs said residents had been confused for 50 years because, officially, the road had always been open to two-way traffic. | YPN Photo: YPN