YOR4Good funds urban garden project
Left Bank Leeds applied to the YOR4Good Fund Cash Grant scheme for assistance with funding of a community garden in a densely populated urban area, which would provide a lasting legacy to enhance the local environment.
The charitable trust began as ‘St. Margaret’s’ in 2002 in a disused Grade 2 listed church. Built in 1907, the church closed in 1995 after the building became too difficult to manage. Left Bank Leeds CIC was launched in 2015 to bring the charity’s vision for the space to life.
Left Bank is a flourishing venue for artistic and community initiatives, with workshops, exhibitions, events and more. It aims to be a genuinely community-led space, focused on developing opportunities and shared creativity through affordable and accessible space.
The YOR4Good fund awarded Left Bank £10,000 which, along with existing funding, helped create an exciting space for the local community to learn, play, relax and come together. There is a volunteer-led edible garden project with raised beds, growing herbs and vegetables which are used in the Trust’s cafe and a little veg and plant library, where people can swap plants and materials. The garden is used by several groups and neighbours, with yoga and other well-being activities, children’s holiday programmes, performances and artwork classes.
According to Left Bank’s Director Sue Jennings, YOR4Good funding was the catalyst needed to develop the garden and there are further plans to extend its use:
”We plan to develop our work with local children this year, to help them learn how to grow their own food. We want to install fruit trees and bushes and extend our herb offering so people can pick what they need when they need it. Our garden is vibrant, attracting bees and bugs and local people to share, nurture and collaborate in.”
