By John Baron
A jungle classroom and cafe could help breathe new life into two former visitor attractions in Pudsey Park.
The former West Leeds Country Park Visitors’ Centre and glasshouse in Pudsey Park closed in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic and subsequent council budget cuts.
JungleBox Ltd build and manage greenhouses containing classrooms and are hoping to regenerate both buildings into educational and community spaces.
The glasshouse would become a jungle classroom embedded in a dense rainforest environment, featuring exotic plants and wildlife.
Junglebox this week submitted a planning application to Leeds City Council for a new café in a glasshouse antechamber. The cafe would be fully planted with tall Ficus benjamina trees, with a seating area underneath for refreshments.
A jungle classroom would be situated next to the cafe.
The glasshouse plans also internal and external improvements to modernise the building and make it more energy efficient. They form part of Junglebox’s wider proposals to bring both the glasshouse and former West Leeds Visitor Centre back to life.
Documents submitted with the application say the impact of a JungleBox in Pudsey “will be broad, catering to the needs of a diverse range of community groups as well as inspiring the creation of new ones”.
“We will look to establish the centre as an integral and essential resource for teaching across the primary, secondary and post 16 phases as well as a teacher and professional training centre for local schools, colleges and universities,” Junglebox said.
The documents add: “This beloved institution has been sorely missed by local residents across the Leeds-Bradford area but has, until now, lacked individuals with both the technical expertise and business acumen necessary to bring about its restoration.
“It is serendipitous, then, that a new company based only a few miles away from the centre represents a coming together of world-renowned experts in the fields required to achieve this restoration.”
The glasshouse planning application has been welcomed by Councillor Dawn Seary (Cons, Pudsey), who said the project had the potential to increase footfall, support local businesses and make the centre a focal point for families, schools and community groups.
She said: “This has been something I’ve been working on behind the scenes for some time, speaking with partners and council officers to find a sustainable way forward for the site.
“The glasshouse was a much-loved facility and it’s great to finally see positive progress being made. These proposals have the potential to breathe new life into Pudsey Park, create a welcoming café space for visitors and restore the building as a valuable community and educational hub.
“I know many residents have been frustrated by how long the site has remained closed, and I share that feeling. I’m delighted we’re now moving in the right direction.”
The planning application for the glasshouse is currently at the consultation phase and can be read in full here. The plans are due to be decided by 26 March.
Council bosses first invited expressions of interest for the former visitor centre and glasshouse in Autumn 2022.
- WLD reported ‘positive’ discussions over the future of the buildings in December.
- Follow WLD‘s coverage of the centre’s closure and possible new lease of life here.
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