22 / 11 / 18

Can’t build? Grow veg …

MEPC was about to start developing the former railway land between Whitehall Road and Wellington Place when the recession forced a halt. Research amongst people working and living nearby showed strong support for temporary greening of the site. The biggest lawn in central Leeds, vegetable beds, a 5-a-side football pitch and bee hives brought life to the site during the years of delay. It was one of the earliest examples of ‘meanwhile use’. (By the way: that old brick wall marks the boundary of the site of Gott's Mill, started in 1792 and demolished in the 1960s. The Yorkshire Post building  stood on the site 1970-2014). This is an example of innovation that we've added since finishing the book.