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The first phase of a project which will ‘green’ a historic walking route in Leeds between Holbeck and the city centre is now underway as part of an ongoing ‘Urban Gardening’ campaign across the south side of the city centre of Leeds to transform areas of derelict neglected land into green spaces.
The Green Corridor project will focus on the route from the centre of Holbeck, from St Matthew’s Church, through Holbeck Urban Village and into the centre of Leeds. It involves a range of environmental improvements including the planting of plane and ornamental pear trees along Sweet Street and sowing wild flower meadows at five locations in and around Holbeck. The project also promotes biodiversity by developing new meadow habitats for species such as butterflies and birds and importantly provides green space improvements close to the city centre. New lighting will also be introduced along part of the route, funded by Leeds City Council Lighting PFI, and overhead lighting will be installed in the Holbeck Viaduct tunnel.
Almost two thirds of the first phase of the project has been funded by Section 106 money, a fund that developers in the area pay into and which contributes towards the improvement of public spaces. The additional funds have been provided by Yorkshire Forward. Holbeck Urban Village has appointed Green Estate, a Sheffield-based social enterprise company to undertake the first phase of the Green Corridor landscape improvements. Green Estate aim to bring neglected inner city areas back to life and to make the green environment a valued and productive asset for all those who live and work in the neighbourhood.
The Green Corridor project will also involve people living in the area and will see the city council working with the community on a variety of events planned over the next few months, which include tree planting, an evening walk and a community clean up day in partnership with local groups such as the Cupboard Youth Group, Holbeck Elderly Aid and local primary schools. Although some of the meadowing is temporary, it is hoped that it will set a precedent for future development in the area as it uses the same principles as those behind Igloo Regeneration’s ‘Wonderwood’, an art park in Holbeck Urban Village which makes attractive use of a vacant site.
The ‘greening’ work will also form part of this year’s ‘Holbeck in Bloom’ event, which sees members of the community working together to produce a ‘blooming’ route including Shafton Lane Allotments, St Matthew’s Community Centre, the 23 trees planted alongside Sweet Street, as well as the Green Corridor meadow sites, ready to enter the Yorkshire In Bloom competition 2011.
These projects will also compliment the adjacent regeneration of the historic Tower Works site, which is soon to be re-opened to the public for the first time in over a hundred years. The first phase of this development is already underway incorporating demolition of the un-listed areas and making way for an impressive public space with water features that could be under-planted with lush green reeds and bull-rushes. To celebrate the green transformation of the area, Yorkshire Forward and Holbeck Urban Village commissioned Leeds-based design agency, Unit, to create a piece of ‘Turf-itti’ – a large scale installation made entirely of real turf which spelt out the word ‘Transform’ on the foreground of the Tower Works development and was visible from the air.
Another key location in this daisy chain of connections is ISIS Waterside Regeneration’s Granary Wharf development which sits between Holbeck and the city centre and is set to once again become a bustling waterside location designed to make the most of natural life in the city centre. The two apartment blocks at the development offer roof top terraces including a ‘sky garden’ complete with sheds, hammocks and plants 21 storey’s high.
Comments Leanne Buchan, Marketing Officer for the Holbeck Urban Village team at Leeds City Council: “The Green Corridor project will help reconnect the communities of Beeston and Holbeck to the city centre and Holbeck Urban Village and is a key link in our ‘Urban Gardening’ campaign which is now in its second year. We hope that the ‘greening’ will help to transform the south side of the city centre so that residents and workers alike can enjoy the area.
“Leeds City Council has already invested hugely to improve the main arteries which connect the area, with the transformation of Neville Street into a sound and art installation and a vibrant gateway into the city, the re-opening of Sweet Street and development of Holbeck Urban Village. The Green Corridor project is the next step to helping local people feel connected throughout the area not only physically, but socially as it will open up the route and provide a safer environment for people walking to and from the city centre.”
David Custance, assistant director of urban renaissance and property at Yorkshire Forward, which co-funded the Green Corridor project and the ‘Transform’ installation at Tower Works, comments: “These are fantastic projects which will transform the route from Holbeck into the city centre into a thriving, attractive place for people who live and work there, as well as visitors to the area.”
The Holbeck Urban Village team at Leeds City Council is currently developing Phase 2 of the Green Corridor project which will see further improvements to walking routes and cycling routes into the city centre as well as road crossings signage and implementing information boards about the areas rich heritage and its pivotal role in the industrial revolution.
