Between 2014-2018 Aireborough will hold a series of commemorative World War I events, coordinated by a WWI Projects Committee.  A centrepiece of the commemorations will be a new garden in Nunroyd Park, with funding raised by the Committee.

The objective of the garden will be a ‘living’ space for remembering and contemplating the spirit of local people who served our nation. This is not a war memorial, but an area of imaginative planting, features and landscaping for people to wander and contemplate; inspired by the National Memorial Arboretum at Lichfield, and Help for Heroes Gardens at RHS Chelsea.

The first task is to choose a location in Nunroyd Park for the garden, so that a design brief can be circulated to budding designers. We are therefore asking for comments on the following two sites (map here) which have been identified by the Committee and Leeds City Council Parks Department.

Both sites would give a garden designer different options for the look and feel of the garden.

Location A, for example is near traffic,  but behind a copse of trees,  it is passed by a lot of people, and the design could reflect moving from the noise of the battle (A65)  through a tree belt and walking towards the relative peace of the park, and the cricket pitch.  Cricket being one of the favourite analogies used by war poets such as Siegfried Sassoon to signify peaceful refuge and England.

Location B, is further away from general use of the Park, (and consequently open to more vandalism) however, it sits near the water, always good for a contemplative feature, and you get a greater sense of the surrounding hills and landscape.

We would encourage people to go and actually look at the locations, and think about the aspect of the site in order to meet the objectives,  as well as considerations of upkeep,  and vandalism.   Then send your responses to aireboroughnp@gmail.com by 13th October 2014, or leave them below in the comments section.