Health for All proposes to turn the diaplidated space next to Holbeck Youth and Community Centre into a community garden.
Picture source: http://www.southleedslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Holbeck-1.jpg
By Felicity Macnamara
A Leeds charity has appealed for Holbeck locals to rally behind their proposals to create a new community garden in the area.
Health for All, based at Holbeck Youth and Community Centre on Elland Road, believes that a dilapidated games space next to the centre on is ripe for regeneration.
The project was launched last week and the charity hopes that a community consultation this evening will inspire local people to volunteer.
Jason Slack, 35, a fundraiser for Health for All, said: “We’ve been working from the centre and have been thinking about what could be done with the games space next to it.
“We’d really like to do something a bit different as there’s not a lot of space for people in the local community.”
The charity, which helps 5000 people across the Leeds region, proposes to turn half of the area into a garden where local people could grow their own fruit and vegetables.
The other half would be kept as an area where people could play games.
An artists impression of what the space would look like after regeneration. Picture source: http://www.southleedslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/small-artist-impression.png
The project would be carried out by Hyde Park Source, who have created a number of community garden space in Leeds, including the Oblong Community Garden at the Woodhouse Community Centre.
Jason added: “We’ve been out to assess some other schemes as there are a number of different ones around the region which have been a success.
“We think Holbeck is a place that could really benefit from a community garden, particularly as there are a lot of back-to-back houses and there isn’t much space to grow fruit and vegetables.
“But this is the sort of project that really needs community support and if the response is good this evening then that is the first step towards making this little dream come true.
“It’s a really exciting time.”
To find out more about the proposal and share your ideas go along to tonight’s open evening at Holbeck Youth and Community Centre from 5-6.30pm.