'I watched a forgotten green space in East End Park turn into vibrant community hub - here's how it happened'
A year ago, Aysgarth Walk Park was just a patch of grass that could be passed without a second glance: quiet, empty, and easy to overlook. But now everything has changed.
With help from St Vincent’s Leeds, support from the local council, and the hands-on efforts of people right here in the community, this once-forgotten green space has been completely transformed.
Today, it's not just a park. It’s a place where neighbours gather, children play, and fresh produce grows freely for anyone who needs it. And here’s the story of how it has now turned into a vibrant community hub.
The project began in September last year when St Vincent’s Leeds received £20,000 from the Leeds City Council Levelling Up Fund to turn the park, just off York Road, into an environment that can enrich the community.
The regeneration had two key dimensions: one focused on enhancing the park’s appearance and the other on turning the space into a place that can be used by local residents.
Building benches and planting an orchard, wildflowers, and bulbs has brought colour and life to Aysgarth Walk Park and made it into an area where adults want to sit and children want to play.
Meanwhile, the installation of planters has enabled locals to grow fruit, vegetables, and herbs that can be used in their kitchens or in the St Vincent’s food pantry.
Produce from Aysgarth Walk Park is free for anyone to take if they need it.
Aysgarth Walk Park, which is just behind the St Vincent’s Leeds building on Berking Avenue, has now been designated as a Groundworks Community Green Hub by Groundworks Yorkshire Northern Network.
This has boosted funding for the project and provided St Vincent’s with access to a Groundworks Yorkshire facilitator to support the park’s regeneration and activities for the community.
Louise Ross, community officer at Groundwork Yorkshire, told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “St Vincent's and Aysgarth Walk sites were selected as they were working with lots of partners like the school nearby and other organisations supporting people with learning difficulties.
“St Vincent’s is a great place with lots of strings to its bow helping those with learning English, financial debt advice and supporting the whole community.”
As many pupils from All Saints Richmond Hill Church of England Primary School walk through the park on their way to school, St Vincent’s Leeds has paid particular attention to how they can make it a safer and more inviting place for children.
During term time, the charity has collaborated with the school to organise activities such as a bug blitz where pupils identify bugs in their natural habitats to get children outdoors and engaged with nature.
Meanwhile, during the summer holidays, they’ve been running a Saturday morning club for kids to come and learn more about gardening.
Stewart Barlow, counselling services manager at St Vincent’s Leeds, has played a central role in the revival of the green hub.
For him, the project is about “reimagining what a community space can be.”
He said: “The idea is that this will become a community-led, community-owned project.
“It’s an initiative that I don’t think anyone’s ever done before but we’re really proud of what we’ve done and it’s going really well.”
And the future is looking even brighter for the now thriving community hub.
Plans include inviting local artists to add creative touches to installing a bug hotel to boost biodiversity.
And the team behind it say the ultimate aim is to create changes to the park that sustain its long term future as a community green space.
In just under a year, Aysgarth Walk Park has been utterly transformed through the work of St Vincent’s Leeds.
What was once an unused patch of grass is an outdoor space full of colour and community spirit.