Work starts on new park in Leeds

The public should be able to visit the new park before the end of 2022

Author: Tom FeahenyPublished 21st Oct 2022
Last updated 21st Oct 2022

Work has officially started on a new park in Leeds located between the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

The Whitehall Riverside Pocket Park will have features including a number of seating areas and grassland.

It will cover 34,500 sq ft and be a linear park following the path of the two waterways.

The council hope it will be opened before the end of this year.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, culture and education, said:

“This stunning new green space is a fitting tribute to the history and natural beauty of the Leeds waterways which have played such an important part in shaping Leeds over the centuries.

“The park will not only give people a chance to sit and appreciate their surroundings in an area which currently has no public seating, it will also be an example of how the city is working together to create a cleaner, greener, more sustainable Leeds.”

Funding for the park has come from Leeds City Council's city centre enhancements fund along with money from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government’s Pocket Park Fund, and The Veolia Environmental Trust’s Landfill Communities Fund.

Becca Dent, strategic delivery programme manager at Canal and River Trust said

“This is a project close to my heart, that’s been a few years in the making and it’s great to see work begin onsite.

"Helping people to connect with their local canal or river is a hugely important part of what our charity does as independent research shows that being by water can really help boost our happiness and wellbeing."

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