It's taken a long time to heal the cracks which started to appear across our communities following the revelation that the July 7 bombers came from this city.

But we did it. Thanks to the tireless work of our civic leaders and the ordinary man and woman on the street, we managed to restore much of the trust and harmony which we enjoyed prior to that terrible day.

Now detectives probing the capital's tube and bus attacks of three years ago have returned to Leeds – let us just pray they're presence doesn't reopen the wounds we toiled hard to heal.

As necessary as it is to have every line of investigation explored and all the facts made public, we hope any conclusions will be reached speedily and without any unnecessary upset.


Musical boost
LET us acknowledge the arrival of the Leeds Academy with the applause it deserves.

This opening will help provide the city centre with a music venue which it has been sadly lacking for years. Heaven knows how many top acts have passed us by because we didn't have somewhere big enough to accommodate them.

But now we can relax a little, safe in the knowledge that we'll be garnering some of the best bands and performers on the circuit – the same bands and performers other cities with their own academies have been enjoying for some time.

We can only hope this arrival will serve as inspiration and a catalyst to those striving to bring an arena to Leeds – if this new venue doesn't prove there's a market out there for live entertainment then nothing will.


Walking tall
GOLD stars all round for pupils at Adel Primary who are leading the way in the drive to get more children to walk to schools. This is something which should be strongly encouraged.

While none of us would want to risk the safety of our youngsters, we also have to recognise the negative effects of having our suburban streets teeming with cars bottlenecking outside playground gates.

Not only is it unfair on local residents, it leaves giant carbon footprints in its wake and can prove just as much of a hazard for tiny pedestrians as allowing them to get to school on foot.

Adel Primary are showing how we can all be green, thoughtful, healthy and have some good old-fashioned fun in the process.