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New proposals for former Leeds school
Plans to convert a former primary school into a community hub are to be handed to council bosses on Monday.
The ambitious proposals have been drawn up by campaigners fighting for the former Royal Park Primary School in Hyde Park to be saved for community use.
The large Victorian school has stood empty since it closed in 2004 while the council considers options for its future.
It hit the headlines late last year when protesters, concerned about the building's deteriorating condition and fearing it could ultimately be demolished, staged an occupation and cleared debris and carried out repairs before the council took court action to have them evicted.
Now the Royal Park Community Consortium – which was not part of the occupation – has developed proposals and a business plan for the former school to be converted into a major community hub.
It is the group's response to the council's invitation to developers and organisations to make a bid for the building and has been drawn up with the help of a small team of architects, engineers and economists who gave their services for free following the occupation.
Under the plan, the consortium wants council chiefs to grant it rights over the property – such as a lease – which would allow it to apply for funds for the five-year renovation project, to be carried out in phases.
More than 1m would be spent developing and running a wide range of facilities that could include prayer space, workshops, art exhibitions, offices, cafe, childcare, business uses, performance area, charity shop and meeting rooms.
One imaginative idea is for 1960s extensions to the school to become "vertical gardens." A steel lattice would be attached to outside of the buildings allowing plants to be grown in frames.
The project would be funded through grants, a loan and income raised by the hub's activities.
According the business plan, the hub would be showing a surplus five years after opening.
John Lawrence, a member of the consortium, said: "The size of the building makes all kinds of uses a possibility. Our aim is to create a hub for the whole community that would bring people together. We believe we have got a strong case."
Monday is the deadline set by the council for bids to be submitted.
They will then be evaluated by council officials before senior councillors make a decision about the building's future later this year.
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Weather for Leeds
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
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