Kirkstall: Launch of ‘Centre for Future Cities’ bid for Abbey Mills

A community group fundraising to turn Kirkstall’s Abbey Mills into flats and a community hub is holding an event at the University of Leeds tomorrow to drum up interest to create a centre for sustainable education in the area. CHRIS HILL, of Kirkstall Valley Development Trust, has the details:

This is a one-off chance to create a centre for sustainable education in two heritage mills based in 200 acres of green space in inner Leeds involving the universities, community and private sectors.

Help us build an urban education centre for the future With the University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett and the Centre for Alternative Technology (Macynlleth).

The community driven Kirkstall Valley Development Trust is aiming to establish a Centre for Future Cities (CFC) in Abbey Mills, Kirkstall.

CFC intends to be a genuine partnership space bringing together different sectors. It will focus on key areas of city life that need to be, and are being, transformed: transport, energy, food and nature, housing and work. It will do this by:

• Providing real world opportunities for research and learning from an early stage in development

• Co-creating and sharing knowledge and understanding between different groups – communities, enterprises, policy makers, researchers, learners

• Being an exemplar of sustainable good practice in urban scale developments

• Recognising challenges, evaluating and adapting

Prof Paul Chatterton (Lilac Co-Housing, Prof of Urban Futures UoL, CFC Co-ordinator) Clair Bastin (UoL Sustainability Manager, Director KVDT) Chris Hill (Development Director, Kirkstall Valley Development Trust) will explain what we are trying to achieve and how University staff can be involved.