A Horsforth group made homeless at short notice by Leeds City Council has found a new home in the village.

But members of Horsforth Photographic Society are far from pleased with the way the local authority has handled the issue.

The society learned just three weeks before its autumn and winter programme was due to start that it would not be able to use the council-run Willows Community Centre in Fink Hill, Horsforth, their home for several years.

They have now found a new home at the church hall of St James' Parish Church, Woodside, Horsforth, at the other end of the village.

But Press officer, Mary Young said she was upset by what had happened. "It has caused us a lot of trouble," she said.

"We only heard that we could not use the hall at short notice and I feel the city council has been very high-handed."

A spokesman for the city council saidThe Willows was not an official community centre, but a community room attached to a sheltered housing complex.

"For some years, the warden has opened up the room in the evenings for the use of local groups on a voluntary basis. However, she has now retired on the grounds of ill health.

"We have not yet replaced the warden.

"It is not really practical to provide the same facilities as she provided voluntarily in her absence. However, we will review the situation after a new warden is appointed.

"In the meantime, we have done our best to put groups in touch with alternative venues."

Arthur Read, of Stanhope Drive, Horsforth, secretary of the society, said he had received a letter from the council stating that facilities at the community centre were to be discontinued in the evenings and that the photographic society would not be able to meet there. "This came as a blow to us as we had made all our arrangements for our autumn and winter programme and had notified our speakers and judges.

"We had also had our programme printed with the venue on it," he said.

"Now I have to write again to 20 people notifying them of the change of venue. The Willows Community Centre has been an ideal venue for us and we are sorry to be leaving," he added.

"Fortunately we have now found a new venue at St James' Parish Church Hall and we shall be meeting there from the end of September until next April. We are quite an active society and have weekly meetings, a portrait night during which we photograph models, and an annual exhibition which is to be held next February," he said.

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