In 2019, Leeds Civic Trust identified the Eastside of Leeds City Centre as an area dominated by roads. To get from Saxton Gardens to the Palace Pub on foot involves crossing more than 20 lanes of traffic! We asked ourselves, how could this space be used better, to benefit the local community and environment? Since then, we have been working with landscape architects at Urban Wilderness, local artist Alex De Little and the Eastside community to imagine how the area could be transformed.
Come and imagine with us at our interactive exhibition…
- Leeds City College, Quarry Hill. Blank-
- 2-12 September. 9am-5pm. Weekdays
- Click here to see the Eastside Vision
The Story So Far…
In 2020, we launched the Liveable Leeds competition at Leeds Playhouse, with 43 stakeholders in attendance. This competition was designed to generate ideas on how to make Eastside a more liveable area. We received some very impressive entries – including a proposal from a 9 year old on installing smart zebra crossings – but the winner was Hannah Beard (Urban Wilderness) in collaboration with artist Alex De Little, with her ‘Leeds Eastside: A Common Ground’ proposal. Hannah has been a leader of our Eastside project ever since.
Click here to see the entries to the Liveable Leeds Competition
VISION DOCUMENT: In 2023, Urban Wilderness produced a vision document for the Eastside development on behalf of Leeds Civic Trust. The vision includes site analysis, the results of our community engagement and design development. It is the key document that summarises our work and proposals to improve Leeds Eastside. The vision is a starting point that we can refer to when engaging with Leeds City Council and new consultees.
Click here to see the Eastside Vision
What next?
Since the publication of the vision document, we have been encouraging Leeds City Council to take onboard our proposals in their policy making, as well as continuing to speak with stakeholders and consultees old and new through community workshops.
This exhibition is a snapshot in time, showcasing the story behind the vision, what the vision involves and capturing what consultees think about the area.
HAVE YOUR SAY: There will be several points of interaction throughout the exhibition, where you can contribute your own ideas and thoughts about making a better Eastside.
Exhibition
- Leeds City College, Quarry Hill. Blank-
- 2-12 September. 9am-5pm. Weekdays
- Click here to see the Eastside Vision
