Wednesday 20^th July saw the official re-opening of Victoria Gardens to the public following the six-month transformation.

We were delighted to welcome back Richard Gillies and Patricia Swannell from Marks & Spencer to do the honours, along with our friends from Little London Primary School who have been involved in the project from the start.

The event was attended by many of those who have been involved in the project including members of the project board and as well as representatives of some of the groups who use the site including the Leeds Chess Club (who immediately put the renewed chess boards to good use) and the Royal British Legion.

The sun even managed to make a bit of an appearance at times, and it was lovely to see members of the public enjoying the space over lunchtime.

Patricia Swannell and Richard Gillies with children

from Little London Primary School

The advantage with not having blogged for a while (for which the blogger offers profuse apologies) is that exciting things have happened at Victoria Gardens since the last update: probably most significantly that much of the site has now been released from its temporary fence prison, and can now be enjoyed and ‘relaxed upon’ in the way it was intended.

The addition of new and increased seating (see previous entry for details) makes it easier for people to do so, and the fact that the whole area feels cleaner, greener, and brighter will hopefully encourage more people to take advantage of this little stretch of calm in the heart of a busy city.

While full calm and order is rapidly being restored, the work does continue; mainly at the ‘lower’ end of the site around the iconic chess boards.

The last of the major jobs is the re-surfacing of this area with special permeable surfacing. This will allow water to be stored on site rather than rapidly running off into drains (a form of sustainable urban drainage) and will allow water to enter the roots of existing trees near the chess boards.

Then it’s the detail:  the little extra features which could on first glance remain unnoticed such as specially commissioned artwork - including a series of interactive bird boxes.

All will be revealed very soon.

One of the new benches in-situ

Crossing the road from the corner of Park Row this morning I could instantly tell that something was different at Victoria Gardens - it had got greener!

The combined effect of the bright new leaves and the fresh carpet of turf within the planters has, for me anyway, really lifted the space, providing a welcome softness to what has been a very stone dominated space.

As you can see from the photos below, the turfing is still in progress and due to be completed very soon. (You may also be able to see some of the new LED uplighters embedded in the turf; all of which have now been installed, but are of course yet to be switched on).

Once this element of the work is completed, the cenotaph end of the site will be opened back up to the public, reducing the level of disruption that visitors to the site – as well as the resident establishments - have very patiently endured for the last few months.

One of the more subtle, yet very important, areas of work has now been completed at Victoria Gardens. The front of the site, along the Headrow, has undergone extensive work to lower the paving (and bollards), thus removing the small steps that used to make the gardens less easy to access, particularly for wheelchair users.

This seemingly small alteration really will open the site up for everyone, making it easier and more natural to access the site from any of the entrance points along the Headrow.

In separate work, the steps to the Art Gallery have had their facelift, with crumbling corners replaced and the whole area cleaned up.

Both pieces of work continue to improve the overall appearance of the site which had deteriorated over the years – and just in good time as one of the next jobs will be the installation of the new lighting...

The steps before and after the repair work

One of the lowered sections of paving on the Headrow edge of the site

While there’s a lot of work currently going on at Victoria Gardens that may not be obvious to the passer-by or untrained eye, it’s always nice when one of the more visible elements of the work takes shape.

On that note, we’re delighted that the new benches have now been made and will be arriving on site shortly.

The benches themselves are rather special (even if we do say so ourselves!). Made locally from  FSC Certified English Oak and Sheffield stainless steel, they are inspired by Art Deco design. There will be 8 in total: some freestanding and others fixed onto the edge of the stone planters.

As well as enhancing the overall look of the site, it is hoped that the increase in seating will tempt more people to pause on the gardens, or visit purposely for a spot of relaxation, reading, or momentary escape from the city din...

Spring has most definitely sprung at Victoria Gardens.

The new trees are thankfully doing what trees should at this time of year, and looking rather lovely in the process.

The new growth gives a hint of what is to come, in terms of the colour, unusual leaf shape and the box shaped head. Coverage will eventually be much fuller, providing good shade and making the space softer and greener.

Work on site resumed recently following a short hiatus to allow new contractors, WGC Landscapes Ltd, to settle in and start the next intensive phase of works.

WGC will be undertaking a variety of tasks, from lowering the paving on the Headrow, to installing the new chess boards.

They have already made good headway with replacing some of the cracked paving on the site, with good paving stones from around the chess boards (which will be resurfaced with a special permeable material) being used to replace some of the cracked stones elsewhere on the site. They have also been busy installing electrical ducting for the new lighting.

Work on lowering the pavement to the front of the site (which will allow better access for disabled users) has started, although not without some difficulties in the form of two unexpected deep concrete pads beneath some of the paving which has delayed the work slightly.

In the meantime, Parks & Countryside have been attending to the new trees; keeping them watered (particularly through the recent dry spell) and gradually topping up the soil so that the planters can be turfed.

All eyes are now on the trees to see when the first leaves will appear...

Victoria Gardens is used for a whole variety of activities and events; some very formal, such as the remembrance service held each November, and some much less so, such as individuals grabbing a few moments’ peace and quiet in their lunch hour.

Somewhere in between are the people who use it for recreation - there are probably few public spaces that can boast such contrasting activities as chess and free running. On Light Night it can become a stage, a screen, a starting point for guided walks, the setting for a story or two...

Groundwork UK’s recently launched Urban Oasis campaign asks us all to love our urban green spaces, especially at such a time when funding cuts could result in their loss. It explores the reasons people appreciate these spaces, plus their importance for nature, their role as community ‘hubs’, and their contribution to the local economy.

Victoria Gardens quite possibly ticks all the boxes, and the design for the re-vamped space has very much taken into account the opinions of those who use it, and range of ways it is used. It is hoped that the improvements made will complement these activities and enhance the experience for all visitors, so that it continues to be used and treasured for many years to come.

The element of the new-look gardens likely to have the greatest visual impact is the new trees, and we are delighted that they are all now in place.

The three open sides of the site are now lined with twenty six semi-mature London Plane trees. Despite their current lack of foliage (I’m sure the spring will soon see to that) you can already make out the box-headed form; the feature which makes this choice of species a bold statement.

Scheme designer - Groundwork's Design Team Leader - Mark Topping commented saying: “It's been very exciting seeing the new trees planted within the site. Planes were chosen initially due to their tolerance to air pollution and pruning. In the past London Plane trees were linked to significantly reducing smog and air pollution within cities during the industrial revolution, and today they absorb pollution from traffic and should therefore significantly improve the air quality along the Headrow.

The bark of these trees, as you can already see, has a beautiful pattern of green, white and cream which will intensify as the trees mature. The leaves will be a rich green colour, large, deeply lobed and should provide a dense foliage, casting welcome shade in the summer. As the trees mature they will also develop attractive rounded fruit clusters which will hang on the branches for most of the year."

The trees have been lovingly lowered into place over the last couple of weeks by Leeds City Council's Parks & Countryside department who have done a fantastic job, using much precision and patience in their task. Parks & Countryside are the principal contractor for this element of the works with Stone Central repairing and cleaning all the stone work on site. WGC Landscapes Ltd are the principal contractor for the surfacing and electrical work and they will be starting on site over the following weeks.

PS - Kind thanks to the YEP from whom we 'borrowed' the headline for this post!

The old stone planters at Victoria Gardens have been treated to a well-earned clean and spot of care and attention.

The stone has been cleaned with a DOFF clean system which spays superheated water to remove algae and dirt; a kind of stone equivalent to a dermabrasion spa treatment. The stones have all been reset and realigned to their original positions, and re-pointed.

While still structurally sound on the whole, the overall look of the planters had understandably been affected due to their city-centre location and exposure to pollution over the past 70 years. The consultation phase of the project revealed an overwhelming preference to retain the planters, both from an environmental point of view and due to their function as a buffer between the gardens and the Headrow traffic, hence they were cleaned and repaired.

The freshly-cleaned planters will become home to the new London Plane trees which have now started going in.

Examples of the stone before and after the cleaning and re-pointing