Aire Park creates new little library in collaboration with Leeds City College

The group of Level 3 Business BTEC Foundation Diploma students from Leeds City College were involved in the project from concept and design to practical build and installation.

Now in pride of place in the public park between Crown Point Road and the Tetley building, the library box is brimming with a range of books for readers of all ages, and the park provides the perfect place to get lost in the literature of your choice.

Through the activation of its evolving eight-acre public park, which on completion will become the biggest new urban park in the UK, Aire Park offers a vibrant new space for the local community and with the students’ contribution of the library box, it now becomes a place to escape and enjoy your favourite story.

Colleen Carter, assistant marketing and communications manager at Vastint UK commented: “We’re committed to creating areas of the public park for everyone and it was fantastic to collaborate with students from Leeds City College to create  our brilliant new library box.

"From the box's build and design to the final installation, the students have been an integral part of this project and we're pleased to be bringing a new focal point for stories, meet ups and catch ups to the heart of Aire Park.”

Kinga Wota, enrichment officer at Leeds City College added: “Taking part in projects like this teaches students important life skills that you just can't get from a textbook; like teamwork, leadership, and empathy. It gives them the confidence to tackle real world problems and helps them feel truly connected to, and responsible for, their local community.

 “Working with Vastint UK has been a fantastic example of how schools and businesses can work together. Vastint didn’t just give us a space at Aire Park, the team truly listened to our students and valued their ideas.

"This partnership gave our learners a first-hand look at how big city building projects work, showing them that commercial businesses and community projects can achieve great things together.”

With an exciting calendar of events planned for the summer including picnics in the park, weekly street food vendors and the Leeds BIDs summer roadshow, Aire Park is firmly establishing itself as a go-to destination in Leeds city centre come rain or shine, with regular updates shared across the development’s social media channels.

On completion, Aire Park will comprise 1,350 modern homes, and over 1 million sq ft of mixed-use office, retail, leisure and commercial space. Designed to put wellbeing and healthy lifestyles at the forefront, the development is centred around an expansive eight-acre public park, which will host one of the largest outdoor event spaces and children’s play areas in the city.

To find out more about Aire Park, visit: https://airepark.co.uk/.