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Issue 51 | May 2019
What’s happening in Beeston, Belle Isle, Cottingley, Holbeck, Hunslet, Middleton & Stourton
UNSETTLED CITIZENS
In this issue:
Renovations celebration
page 3
#techmums go digital
page 9
Uncertainty amongst local EU nationals as Settlement Scheme opens
T
by Imran Marashli
he twists and turns of Brexit have been welldocumented, but for now life continues as normal for local EU nationals from countries including Poland, Portugal, Romania, Greece, Latvia and Lithuania who call South Leeds home. The sight of European shops, restaurants, butchers and salons contributing to the daily hum of activity on Beeston’s Dewsbury Road testifies to the diversity of the area and the notable presence of Europeans living here. Yet EU residents intending to stay in the UK in the long term have to act to keep it that way. The government’s EU Settlement Scheme, which opened fully on Saturday 30 March, requires EU citizens to apply before 30 December 2020 to guarantee their right to continue living and working in the UK as they do now after 30 June 2021. Applicants will need to prove their identity and answer questions about their residence online before obtaining ‘pre-settled’ or ‘settled’ status, depending on
whether they have lived continuously in the UK for five years. However, despite the government’s promotion of the Scheme, unawareness and uncertainty are the challenges to be overcome before EU nationals can secure their postBrexit future. Paulina Grobniwska, 25, moved from Poland more than two years ago because “good money and jobs” were available in Leeds. She intends to stay in Leeds, where she has always felt welcome, but only for five to six years before returning to Poland. However, she had not heard about the EU Settlement Scheme and does not know how to apply, which she would have to do to stay for her desired length of time. Another local Pole named Paulina is the manager of a large local Polish supermarket, Syrenka, and has lived in Leeds for eight years. She has not applied for the EU Settlement Scheme and has seen little information apart from one advertisement on the internet and admits that her Polish staff – many of whom speak little English – need to apply but do not know about it at present.
Determined Dan’s fighting cancer
page 11
New inclusive football club
page 22
NEWS
2-10
ELECTIONS SCHOOLS Adverts have appeared to promote the government scheme - but only in English For those who are aware of the Scheme, the uncertainty surrounding the UK’s future relationship with the EU has prevented them from committing to a course of action.
Antanas, who hails from Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, is one such example. He manages a shop on Dewsbury Road and has lived in Leeds since 2011. “It’s a nice community and I’ve never had
problems,” he says, with the 2016 referendum not making a difference. Nevertheless, Brexit’s unpredictability is posing personal and commercial problems. Continued on page 4
6 11-13
FEEDBACK
14
ARTS
15
LOCAL HISTORY
16
WHAT’S ON
17-21
SPORT
22-24
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