Mary was born on 27th July 1937, in Grove Place, Hunslet. She had a brother and four sisters. Her mum and dad were Flori and Leonard Palmer.

Mary and her family moved to 1 Broom Place in Belle Isle when she was 3 years old, Mary recalls listening to all the planes going over the house during the War and she would stand watching them. Mary had her photo taken from the front garden while watching planes go over. This picture was later used in a book that was published about Belle Isle in the 1980s. It was called Belle Isle – Hatches, Matches. Dispatches. Mary has always loved to dance and recalls dancing at Roundhay Park for a very special lady – Princess Elizabeth, who later became Queen Elizabeth.

Mary went to the crypt school under the church from the age of 3 years old to 7, then went to Hunslet “Nash” school from 7 to 15 years old.

After leaving school, Mary went to work as a machinist at Sydney A Smith’s on Goodman Street in Hunslet, where she met her first husband, Keith. They had David, Gordon, Janice and Carol. Keith sadly passed away at the age of 27, leaving Mary to raise the children alone.

Mary went on to meet and marry Patrick Cassidy. They had Patricia, Phillip and Glen together.

Mary then went to work at John Barron’s sewing. She then left and started working from home as it was easier with the children. Mary worked for David Smith, she did sewing from home.

When the children were getting older Mary went to work at Broom Post Office. This was in 1978 and she stayed there until the shop was sold in 1999. Mary recalls these as the best days of her life working in the post office. She had a very good friend Shirley who worked with her, she recalls this being like her second family and had many happy times with them all at the post office.

Mary moved to Broom Road, then bought a house in the Orions, where she lived from from 1968 to 2013 and from there moved to Belle Isle Circus.

After 48 years together Patrick sadly passed away. Then in 2025 Mary’s daughter Janice also passed away.

Have you got any more life stories you would like to see published, or local history or information? Contact Peter Sutton at BITMO.

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by Sergeant Dan Ryder

I am the lead Neighbourhood Sergeant for Middleton & Belle Isle ward and have held this position for the last 3 years. I have 22 years’ service and much of my career has been on proactive Policing teams. I have worked as a neighbourhood sergeant for the last 5 years. Working with partnership agencies such as housing associations and Leeds City Council services along with your local elected officials, we continue to work to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour in the area. We hold regular meetings where we analyse reports from the community and set 3 local priorities that we work to target and reduce to improve the community’s way of life.

These currently are:

• To target the anti-social vehicle use and criminality around the ward area

Over the last few years, we have significantly reduced the calls for service for off road bikes, we continue to target the issue recovering bikes and reporting offenders to court. With a small team we do require support to focus our patrols in the correct areas where we receive the most reports and therefore to assist us in tackling this issue, if you have any information in relation to these issues please ring 101 or report it on the West Yorkshire police website.

• To Target drug dealing and antisocial drug use in the area

We continue to use intelligence led Policing and High Demand Reporting Areas to identify the areas of drug dealing and ASB use take place and actively target those areas through patrols and disruption. Look to develop intelligence around addresses and offenders linked to the dealing of drugs. 

Working with UKBF who are supporting with intercepting large amount of drugs coming into the area. 

• To target the increased Anti social behaviour around the retail park and District Centre

 We have so far identified and issued out 30 Anti-social Behaviour Contracts to youths found committing ASB in the area which include exclusions from the area. We continue to work in partnership with the Leeds Anti-social Behaviour Team for the ongoing management of these offenders. We are also working closely with the retail outlets in the area, to secure the area and protect it from attracting anti-social behaviour. We have received a significant reduction in calls for service in the area from 30 calls a month to 5.

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Housing Leeds and BITMO want to make it easier for tenants to understand:

• the standards of service you can expect
• how well they and BITMO are performing, so you can hold them and us to account

Please take part in the survey by clicking on this link.

The survey will take around 5 minutes and will close on the 21 June 2026.

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BITMO’s Housing Office and the BITMO’s GATE community centre will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday.

If you have an emergency repair when the office is closed, please call the Out of Hours Emergency Number 0113 376 0410.

Here are some examples of emergency repairs:

Loss of power or heating – if you have a problem with your power supply, check the fuse box first, if you have access to the internet, please check Northern Power Grid for power cuts in your area before calling in the repair.

Major leaks or flooding – if you have a leak which you cannot contain , turn the water off at the stop tap until help arrives.

Broken doors or windows – this will be made safe on the initial visit and then booked in for a standard repair when the office is open

Lost or stolen keys

Unsafe electrical fittings

If you smell gas, you should:

Call Northern Power Grid immediately on 0800 111 999

Turn off the gas

Don’t turn on or off any light switches or power sockets

Open your windows and air the property,

The BITMO Housing Office will reopen as normal at 9am on Tuesday 7 April.

As BITMO’s GATE is closed for Good Friday there will be no Friday breakfast or Friday afternoon foodbank. BITMO’s GATE will reopen as normal from 1pm-7pm on Tuesday 7 April.

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Your Estate, Your Voice: Why BITMO Matters

by BITMO Chief Executive Deborah Kelly

Belle Isle isn’t just a place to live — it’s a community shaped by the people who call it home.

And unlike many other estates, it’s managed by you.

Through BITMO (Belle Isle Tenant Management Organisation), tenants are at the heart of decisions about homes, services, and the future of the estate — not the Council.

Every five years, you get the power to decide: Should Belle Isle continue to be run by tenants, or return to Council management?

Each time, tenants who vote have chosen to keep BITMO. But many voices are still missing.

Why aren’t more people voting?

40% didn’t know the ballot was happening

25% knew — but didn’t get around to voting

That means many voices in Belle Isle aren’t being heard.

You told us BITMO makes a difference:

Two-thirds of tenants said it’s important that BITMO stays tenant-led

Only one quarter weren’t sure if it makes a difference

What you want — and what we’re doing:

Investing in your homes:

We’re putting over £200,000 more into improving homes this year.

Supporting older residents:

Our tenancy support team provides weekly help and activities for older people.

Helping through financial hardship:

We have two dedicated staff members supporting residents in financial difficulty.

Tackling anti-social behaviour:

We’ve repossessed a property due to serious ASB and are working closely with police.

Better services, stronger community:

BITMO tenants report higher satisfaction than Leeds City Council tenants.

We will keep listening, improving services, and strengthening tenant control.

Be part of something bigger.

Want to help shape the future of Belle Isle? Get in touch — we’d love to work with you.

This is your estate. Your community. Your decision.

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