Photos: Kelvin Wakefield
Photos have captured inside the disused glasshouse in Pudsey Park before it is transformed into a jungle cafe and classroom.
Photographer Kelvin Wakefield spoke to Matt Shaw, one of the directors of JungleBox, the company carrying out the development. Plans approved last month will see the creation of a new cafe and tropical-themed classroom in the glasshouse.
Mr Shaw said that there was a lot of work to do, but that they hoped to open late summer.
In the entrance to the glasshouse a large number of specimens have died due to the heat last summer, but some of the plants in the main tropical house survived and will be preserved. Some of the paths and plants will be altered.
Mr Shaw also added that the former visitor centre will re-open as a zoo for small animals and it’s hoped to re-use some of the old aquariums.
Some of Kelvin’s photos from the glasshouse can be found below:
The former West Leeds Visitor Centre will also form part of the JungleBox scheme, which aims to create a community and educational space.
The glasshouse in Pudsey Park closed in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic and subsequent council budget cuts.
Council bosses first invited expressions of interest for the former visitor centre and glasshouse in Autumn 2022.
- Follow WLD‘s coverage of the centre’s closure and potential new lease of life here.
- WLD is set to feature a detailed interview and video with Junglebox later this week, courtesy the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
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