Restaurant on Otley Run route plans to become bar

Published: 06 March 2026
The English Chronicle Desk
The English Chronicle Online

A venue on Leeds’ famous Otley Run route has applied for retrospective planning permission to change from a restaurant to a bar, it has emerged .

Taylor’s Sports Bar and Grill opened in March 2023 on Otley Road in Headingley, which is famous for its 2.5-mile fancy dress pub crawl involving 19 venues . The Otley Run, originally a student event but now popular with stag and hen parties at weekends, has come under fire in recent years for anti-social behaviour linked to drinkers .

In its planning application to Leeds City Council, Taylor’s said it had already demonstrated it would “not add to or worsen the impacts of the Otley Run” . Despite having opened under the guise of a restaurant which sold alcohol three years ago, the planning statement said the site now “predominantly serves as a drinking establishment, retaining the bar from its former use” . It added that a “small food menu” continued to be served .

Taylor’s indicated it was granted a licence by Leeds City Council to serve alcohol in an upstairs area last July, in a move it said would allow it to serve more people . It said that although the panel which considered the licence were concerned about the Otley Run, the majority had taken the view that granting the licence would not add to the problems perceived to be caused by the crawl .

The Otley Run has become an increasingly divisive issue in recent years, with critics claiming residents are being forced to live with persistent drunkenness, public urination and harassment . Others have argued the crawl remains a traditional rite of passage for Leeds students and that most participate peacefully .

On-the-spot fines were introduced for public urination, littering and other anti-social behaviour along the Otley Run route in 2020 . Supporters of the crawl have defended it, saying the majority of drinkers are well-behaved and it is healthy for the local economy . But critics have claimed numbers of Otley Runners have ballooned since the Covid pandemic and that many local residents have experienced harassment and intimidation from those taking part .

In 2022, one local councillor compared the appearance of Headingley on weekend to “Magaluf” and blamed older drinkers for the problems, rather than students, many of whom live in the community .

Despite its recent arrival, Taylor’s has already become a firmly established stop on the Otley Run . A local guide to the pub crawl notes that the breather drinkers used to get between The New Inn and Headingley Taps has been removed by Taylor’s and Arcadia joining the club .

The venue shows all big sporting events on its screens, and if England are playing cricket at Headingley at the same time as an Otley Run is taking place, it becomes standing room only for fancy-dressed drinkers . Beers, cider and spirits are solid big-name brands including Madri, Peroni and Aspalls, while rotating food options including pies from Pie Stack have made it a popular stop for those needing an early run refuel .

Other premises in the area have had applications for alcohol licences rejected on the basis that they would potentially cause more public nuisance . In December 2024, plans to serve alcohol from a new restaurant on the route met with 99 objections from the public . Ward councillors, West Yorkshire Police and the council raised concerns over the venue being in a Cumulative Impact Area (CIA), classed as suffering from high levels of problem drinking by the council . Licence applicants in CIA areas are required to demonstrate their venue would not add to drink-related problems .

More recently, the Golden Beam Wetherspoon pub on Headingley Lane was blocked from removing a licence condition preventing it from admitting people on the Otley Run . That application was met with 145 objection letters, with West Yorkshire Police and MP Alex Sobel among the objectors at a licensing hearing in December . The current licence at the Golden Beam allows alcohol sales until 10.30pm during the week and midnight on Friday and Saturday, with the condition preventing Otley Runners originally offered by Wetherspoon when it was first granted a licence in 2020 .

Some local residents have expressed frustration at the cumulative impact of multiple licensed premises along the route. In a submission regarding a different premises in the area, local campaign group Weetwood Rose noted that the experience of other restaurants and bars in the near vicinity proves that conditions can still allow businesses to flourish while preventing negative impacts on residents . Their submission, made jointly with MP Alex Sobel, suggested conditions including no outdoor use after 10pm, harmonised opening hours with other nearby venues, and crucially, that premises “will not be allowed to serve Otley Runners” and must be “food-led” .

A spokesperson for Taylor’s said they did not wish to comment, citing the ongoing planning process . A decision is due to be made on the application in the coming weeks .

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