Hyde Park: The story of the fight to save Royal Park Primary

The story of Royal Park Primary School in Hyde Park is one of ups and downs with a community desperate to make use of the Victorian building at its heart. The school was first muted for closure in the mid-1990s, a threat which never materialised thanks to a campaign from parents and pupils. Yet it would be closed by 2004 as part of a shake up of education services around the city. The building would stand empty for the next six years before the school hit the headlines again in 2009 when a group of protesters illegally occupied the building to highlight its deteriorating state. Two years later The Royal Park Community Consortium (RPCC), which was not a part of the occupation, drew up proposals for the former school’s conversion into a community hub providing facilities for youth groups, a nursery, gym, office space, conference room, business starter units and possibly a library. It tabled its proposals to the council’s executive board, alongside rival plans put forward by developers who were bidding to buy the building. The board agreed the consortium should be given nine months to raise the £750,000 needed to get its ambitious scheme off the ground. But a bid to the Big Lottery Fund failed and the group was unable to raise the cash. READ MORE: Unseen photos chart of a golden age of Leeds pub culture LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook YEP RETRO NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our free monthly email digest of Leeds nostalgia