Councillor Al Garthwaite speaks about the public space protection order which has recently come into place. This means that “council officers are able to stop drunk people and give you on the spot fines.” This is just one of the precautions the council are taking to tackle the ongoing nuisance problem. Despite this, she understands that “it does give a lot of fun to students and also brings in much needed income for the bars and hospitality venues who really suffered during the pandemic.”
The Otley run is a two-and-a-half mile bar crawl across Leeds. It consists of 15 pubs starting from Woodies in Headingly and ending at Dry Dock in the city centre. Every Saturday hundreds of people from all over the country come together dressed in a range of fancy-dress outfits to tackle the bar crawl.
This fun day out often leads to aggressive behaviour and is linked to a rise of sexual harassment and public urination reports. The council is urging the public to report any anti-social behaviour that they may encounter on the Otley run and have even banned some pubs from taking part, such as The Golden Beam Weatherspoons.
Sophie Starsmore is an employee at Headingley Taps, one of the pubs on the Otley run. She speaks about her experience working on a Saturday and claims she has had an overall positive experience. “I thoroughly loved working on a Saturday.” Although she has experienced aggressive behaviour when “people get rowdy” she said that “it’s not tolerated on a Saturday at all.”
Although there are obvious issues regarding the bar crawl, the public seems to be enjoying it as much as ever. “I love the Otley run” said one participant. “It’s a really good laugh,” said another.
