Leeds red light district: How Holbeck's legal 'managed approach' was allowed to operate - and what happened to it

It has now been three years since the rules for the controversial scheme was paused. After that it was not returned before it was announced that it would be officially scrapped in June 2021.

From its inception the Managed Approach was a dividing subject among residents and politicians and led to national headlines and regular protests in Holbeck. Those taking part claimed that it had led to children being solicited for sex and sexual activity happening in public areas.

The scheme was also praised for the support it offered the vulnerable that found themselves in sex work, and after it was scrapped the authorities said that it had been a considerable success.

Below we look back on everything about the Managed Approach.

What was the Managed Approach?

The 'managed approach' allowed street sex workers to ply for trade without fear of arrest, in a particular area of Leeds within agreed hours.

When and why was it introduced?

The scheme was introduced as a 12-month pilot back in October 2014 by the community safety partnership Safer Leeds - a group which included Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Police.

Before this the city's unofficial red light district had moved to the area around Water Lane and was creating problems for people living in Holbeck as it crept further into nearby residential areas.

Various approaches focused on enforcement - either against sex workers or their clients - were tried but had failed to make any significant impact on the level of street sex work in the city.

The aims of the Managed Approach were were to:

1. Reduce the problems caused by street prostitution to residents and businesses

2. Better engage with street sex workers to improve their safety and health, with a view to enabling them to exit this way of life

3. Reduce the prevalence of street sex working in Leeds

How did it work?

The rules of the 'managed approach' were kept under regular review but by and large included:

1. No offences tolerated at any time within residential areas

2. No offences tolerated between 6am and 8pm

3. No offences tolerated outside businesses which are operating

4. Drug use, trafficking, organised crime and coercion were not tolerated

5. Crime, public order and anti-social behaviour was not tolerated

6. Indecency was not tolerated at any time

When it began, Safer Leeds said a 'three strikes’ policy meant rule-breakers would get a warning for a first breach, a caution for a second and be arrested for a third infringement.

Four police officers and PCOS were also assigned to a 'dedicated team' to oversee the sex workers in the Holbeck area from December 2017.

What happened during that time?

It attracted national media attention following the murder of sex worker Daria Pionko in December 2015. Originally from Poland, the 23-year-old lived in Leeds with her boyfriend and was a sex worker in the Holbeck area of the city.

Following the murder of, a review was conducted into the future of the 'managed approach'. Its findings were published in 2016 when it was announced that the scheme would continue but with some small changes to the way it was run.

A third of residents and businesses who responded back then wanted to see it scrapped, but the majority thought it should continue in some form.

What was the response from residents?

Those in favour of the 'managed approach' said it helped support services and charities to engage with the often vulnerable women involved in sex work and increased the reporting and successful prosecution of crimes committed against sex workers.

However, residents repeatedly voiced their displeasure by organising demonstrations and sharing their stories, saying that the zone was bringing anti-social behaviour to the area.

Residents gave accounts of teenage schoolgirls being propositioned in the street, sexual acts being performed in people’s gardens and discarded condoms and needles being discovered.

When was it paused?

The managed approach was paused in March 2020 as coronavirus sent the country into lockdown, but in reality the buying and selling of sex continued in the area. Charity Basic Support said some women had no choice but to work with little support available to them.

When was it cancelled?

The managed approach was brought to an official end in June 2021, which effectively re-criminalised prostitution and soliciting at all times, as was the case before the Managed Approach was introduced in 2014.

The authorities said that the scheme had led to significantly fewer sex workers operating in the area as well as fewer men travelling into Holbeck looking to pay for sex. They said that this was down to the ongoing effect of the Covid pandemic, as well as the support offered by services which help sex workers reduce their hours or quit on-street sex work for good.

When it was scrapped the authorities said that the number of sex workers had fallen by 50% since 2017/2018, with an average of 22 women currently recorded a week.

What has happened since?

The authorities said after in the strongest possible terms that the Managed Approach would not be moving to somewhere else but that if one sprang up in another area of the city, a tailored approach would be created with similar packages of support for those affected.

What was the response

The decision to scrap the Managed Approach was welcomed by many residents who had campaigned against it.

But Basis Yorkshire, the charity which works with sex workers in the area, said it was disappointing to see the “pioneering and compassionate approach” scrapped.