Burley Park will be one of the first area’s of parkland in Leeds to benefit from a slice of National Lottery Heritage funding.
Leeds Loves Parks is a register charity which aims to improve the city’s parks and open spaces – and has scooped £249,995 of Lottery money for its city-wide ‘Leeds Partnership Parks’ project.
This three-year project will enable the charity to bring together Leeds City Council, residents, businesses, local ‘friends of’ park groups, community organisations, volunteers and the public to work in partnership to deliver a range of cultural, heritage, sport and recreational activities.
Six pilot parks will be selected to benefit from the fund, with a particular focus on those communities with the lowest access to public green space. The first two parks to be included in the pilot will be Burley Park and Harehills Park.
Conversations will take place with members of the community for their ideas about park improvements and activities starting in March 2023and will involve volunteers from the Friends of Burley Park group.
The charity will also work with park stakeholders to co-design a vision and management plan for all parks. This park plan will help guide and inform future park improvements, to ensure they benefit local communities and the environment in the long-term.
Councillor Salma Arif, Executive Member for Leeds City Council, Public Health and Active Lifestyles said: “I am delighted that Love Leeds Parks have been successful in their bid to raise funds for community parks in Leeds.
“Parks and green spaces have many benefits for the environment, social cohesion, the local economy and particularly for health and wellbeing, so anything that can be done to get more people of all ages out and about and enjoying them is very welcome, especially in inner city areas where there is less public green space available to use.”
To get involved in the conversations, follow Love Leeds Parks on their social media accounts @LoveLeedsParks on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and visit their website.
