Liberal at site of cathedral in the recent past (6)
I believe the answer is:
lately
'in the recent past' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'liberal at site of cathedral' is the wordplay.
'liberal' becomes 'l' (abbreviation).
'site of cathedral' becomes 'Ely' (location of Ely Cathedral).
'l'+'at'+'ely'='LATELY'
(Other definitions for lately that I've seen before include "Recently" , "Not long ago, sounds unpunctual" , "In the last few days" , "Within recent time" , "In the recent past" .)