Mr Rossi climbing frame: Plans to honour legendary ice cream man Vittorio Di Mascio move step closer
Councillors are set to decide whether to spend more than £10,000 on a tribute to legendary Leeds ice cream man Vittorio Di Mascio - in the form of a park climbing frame designed to replicate his van.
Vittorio Di Mascio - who was known across West Yorkshire as Mr Rossi - died in January.
He was a recognisable figure in the Pudsey and Bramley area where he would service ice creams out of his yellow and white ice cream van and his death devastated Leeds residents.
Hundreds of people paid tribute to Mr Di Mascio on social media following his death.
Earlier this year, a Bramley woman set up a fundraiser to try and raise £5,000 to pay towards a new climbing frame for the park, replicating the well-known colours and style of Mr Rossi's van.
On the fundraiser page, Alison Arnison said "it would be lovely to create a lasting memory of him".
The idea was praised across Facebook by other residents and the fundraiser started gaining traction.
Unfortunately, a final sum of around £250 was raised - far short of the £10,000 estimate.
Now, councillors are set to decide if the funds are available for the equipment at a meeting next week.
The inner west community committee is made up of nine councillors.
They will meet on Wednesday July 13 in Kirkstall and members of the public can attend.
The full agenda for the meeting can be viewed here.Similar plans for tributes to Mr Rossi are in the works in Pudsey for the future, according to councillors.