Leeds, United Kingdom
City population: 746855
Duration: 2016 – unknown
Implementation status: Unknown
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: unknown
Type of area: Industrial, Previous derelict area
Last updated: April 2022

Used by a skip hire company until 2016, this riverside Pocket Park will link other fragmented green spaces and routes. Once the rubble is cleared a level riverside walkway will be created that is accessible to walkers, runners, cyclists and wheelchair users. Invasive plants will be removed and new soil mounds will add shape to the land and act as places where native plants can grow. Self-seeded trees will be thinned out and the best allowed to grow on. Once complete the path through it will form part of the sustainable travel network in the upper Aire valley. (1)

Plan for the area
https://www.kvdt.org.uk/about/

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Parks and urban forests
  • Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces

Key challenges

  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Maintenance and management of urban nature

Project objectives

- Create a new public park and visitor centre with Leeds City Council. By actively managing the park the Kirkstall Valley Park group aims to promote social inclusion, health and wellbeing and education in an enjoyable setting. - New visitor centre would provide interactive displays, and promote informed discussion of climate change and global environmental issues. - There will be opportunities for walking, cycling, running, canoeing, fishing, bird watching, community food production and a wide range of sports and outdoor activities in a largely traffic-free environment. -Investment in new paths and footbridges would greatly improve access to the valley for communities on both sides of the river and create sustainable off-road routes linking the Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve, Armley Mills Industrial Museum, Hollybush Farm, Kirkstall Abbey and Museum, Rodley Reserve, other public entertainment and sports facilities. -It would bring together wildlife and environmental groups in their work. (6)

Implementation activities

An area of land on the riverside near the Kirkstall Morrisons store at Kirkstall Valley Park was used to create St Ann’s Mills Pocket Park. (2) Members of Armley Forum heard last in September 2015 of a potential project asking residents living in the Kirkstall, Armley and Bramley & Stanningley wards what they would like to see happen that would help them connect with their green spaces. The project gained the support of four environmental organisations at Conservation Volunteers at Hollybush, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Groundwork and Leeds Council. Plans to create a pocket park and pedestrian footbridge in Kirkstall were submitted by local councillor John Illingworth in 2016. (4)

Main beneficiaries

  • Citizens or community groups

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Citizens or community group

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

It was one of five Leeds community groups to have been awarded a share of a £1.5 million Government fund to transform neglected urban spaces into ‘pocket parks.’ (3) Leeds City Council’s Inner West Community Committee match-funded the £10,000 received from the Department for Communities and Local Government to fund the project. The Council worked in partnership with both The Conservation Volunteers at Hollybush and Groundwork in the development of the site. (2)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Yes (Funding was provided in line with the government’s manifesto commitment to deliver pocket parks across the UK. The plan aimed to protect and build "small areas of inviting public space where people can enjoy relief from the hustle and bustle of city streets". (12))
... a local policy or strategy? Unknown

Financing

Total cost

€10,000 - €50,000

Source(s) of funding

  • Public national budget

Type of funding

  • Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

Type of non-financial contribution
  • Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
  • Citizens (e.g. volunteering)

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Green space and habitat
  • Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Increased green space area

Economic impacts

  • Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Improvement in people’s connection to nature
  • Education
  • Increased knowledge of locals about local nature

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

(1) Department for Communities and Local Government. (2016). Green light given to over 80 pocket parks. Source link [Accessed 8 October 2020]
(2) West Leeds Dispatch. (2016). New £20,000 pocket park near Kirkstall Morrisons. Source link [Accessed 8 October 2020]
(3) Yorkshire Evening Post. (2016). New ‘pocket parks’ to boost recreation in Leeds. [Website unavailable in 2020]
(4) West Leeds Dispatch. (2016). Kirkstall pocket park plans submitted. Source link [Accessed 8 October 2020]
(5) West Leeds Dispatch. (2015). Kirkstall Valley: Have your say on improving parks and green spaces. Source link [Accessed 8 October 2020]
(6) West Leeds Dispatch. (2015). Kirkstall Valley: Councillor proposes new public park and visitor centre. Source link [Accessed 8 October 2020]
(7) [no author]. (2015). Kirkstall Eco Education Park. Source link [Accessed 8 October 2020]
(8) Kirkstall Valley Park. [no date]. A new Public Park in the Kirkstall Valley. Source link [Accessed 8 October 2020]
(9) Edwards, Richard. (2016). Application 16/03597/FU: Laying out of a public footpath along the River Aire, at land adjoining St. Ann’s Mills, Kirkstall, Leeds. Leeds. Leeds City Council. [Document attached]
(10) Geary, Sarah. (2015). Community Committee Update Report. Leeds. Leeds City Council. [Document attached]
(11) Illingworth, John. (2016). Kirkstall Neighbourhood Forum Board Meetings 27 January – 23 March 2016. [Document attached]
(12) Conservative Party. (2015). THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY MANIFESTO 2015. [Document attached]
(13) Kirkstall Valley Development Trust (2020) About. Source link [Accessed 8 October 2020]