Viaduct Gardens | |
---|---|
Type | Elevated urban linear park; public park |
Location | Leeds, West Yorkshire |
Coordinates | 53°47′39″N1°33′34″W / 53.7943°N 1.5595°W |
Created | 2023 |
Status | Grade II listed |
The Viaduct Gardens, initially marketed as the Viaduct Urban Garden, is an elevated park and garden in Leeds, England. The garden or park is located on top of the Grade II listed viaduct called Monk Bridge Viaduct, which is also sometimes used when referring to the gardens.
The park was completed in 2023, after it was converted from a disused railway viaduct. [1] In 2024, it was shortlisted for Architects' Journal's annual award in the Landscape and Public Realm category.
The Monk Bridge viaduct on which the park is located was constructed in the 1800s, presumed to be around the same time as the opening of the Leeds Central railway station in 1854. Leeds opted to close one of its central train stations in 1961 and amalgamated all the rail to Leeds railway station, which is now the only central railway station in Leeds. Leeds Central was then demolished years later, its site has now become the business district and public square, Wellington Place.
The viaduct was partly demolished, leaving around 200 meters of what would have been around half a kilometre long when the station was in use. Leeds's south is dotted with railway viaducts, both in use and abandoned. Following completion of New York City's High Line, a greenway was suggested on another viaduct, but construction is yet to start on that project. [2] Meanwhile, a nearby developer purchased a much shorter disused viaduct, which has now become the Viaduct Urban Garden. [3]
The design of the new Viaduct Garden was carried out by Ares Landscape Architects, as part of the adjacent residential development of The Junction.
Work on converting the viaduct began in 2022 and opened the first phase of the park in 2023. [4] [5] When the park opened it became the first elevated park in the county of Yorkshire. [6]
The garden is accessed to the west of Wellington Place, a public square in Leeds' west end. A new stairwell and lift were constructed on the end of the viaduct for access. Other access points are likely to be available in the future as nearby developments reach completion. [6]
The Viaduct Gardens aren't to be confused with the Holbeck Viaduct Project, which is a much longer viaduct where proposals for over a decade have suggested the creation of a greenway running over a 1 mile in length. [7]
The old train station was located a few hundred meters from the current viaduct park as you look towards central Leeds, with the viaduct serving as the main entrance and exit to the terminus train station. [8]
Leeds railway station is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on New Station Street to the south of City Square, at the foot of Park Row, behind the landmark Queens Hotel. It is one of 20 stations managed by Network Rail. As of December 2023, it was the busiest station in West Yorkshire, as well as in Yorkshire & the Humber, and the entirety of Northern England. It is the second busiest station in the UK outside of London, after Birmingham New Street.
The Huddersfield line is the main railway line between the English cities of Leeds and Manchester, via Huddersfield. It is one of the busiest MetroTrain lines. The route travels south-south-west from Leeds through Dewsbury. After a short westward stretch through Mirfield, where it runs on the ex-L&YR section, it continues south-west through Huddersfield, using the Colne Valley to its headwaters. The long Standedge Tunnel, just after Marsden, crosses under the watershed; the majority of the run down to Manchester is in the Tame Valley. From Manchester, some services continue to Manchester Airport and others to Liverpool.
The Harrogate line is a passenger rail line through parts of North Yorkshire and the West Yorkshire area of northern England connecting Leeds to York by way of Harrogate and Knaresborough. Service on the line is operated by Northern, with a few additional workings by London North Eastern Railway starting and terminating at Harrogate. West Yorkshire Metro's bus and rail MetroCard ticket is available for journeys between Leeds and Harrogate.
The Leeds–Bradford lines are two railway lines connecting the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire, both meeting in Leeds railway station and both included in the West Yorkshire Metro area system of lines.
The Airedale line is one of the rail services in the West Yorkshire Metro area centred on West Yorkshire in northern England. The service is operated by Northern, on the route connecting Leeds and Bradford with Skipton. Some services along the line continue to Morecambe or Carlisle. The route covered by the service was historically part of the Midland Railway.
A rail trail is a shared-use path on a railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcars, or with disused track. As shared-use paths, rail trails are primarily for non-motorized traffic including pedestrians, bicycles, horseback riders, skaters, and cross-country skiers, although snowmobiles and ATVs may be allowed. The characteristics of abandoned railways—gentle grades, well-engineered rights of way and structures, and passage through historical areas—lend themselves to rail trails and account for their popularity. Many rail trails are long-distance trails, while some shorter rail trails are known as greenways or linear parks.
The Coulée verte René-Dumont or Promenade plantée René-Dumont is a 4.7 km (2.9 mi) elevated linear park built on top of obsolete railway infrastructure in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was inaugurated in 1993.
Halifax railway station serves the town of Halifax in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Calder Valley line and is 17 miles (27 km) west from Leeds.
Mytholmroyd railway station serves the communities of Mytholmroyd, Luddendenfoot, Midgley, Cragg Vale, and surrounding areas in West Yorkshire, England. It has disabled access via ramps instead of steps on both platforms, unusually as the station is built on a viaduct. It lies on the Calder Valley Line operated by Northern and is situated 7.5 miles (12 km) west of Halifax and 25 miles (40 km) west of Leeds.
Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is roughly bounded by the Inner Ring Road to the north and the River Aire to the south and can be divided into several quarters.
Holbeck railway station was a railway station that served the district of Holbeck, in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
The Leeds–Northallerton railway is a partly disused railway line between West and North Yorkshire, in northern England.
Low Moor railway station serves the villages of Low Moor and Oakenshaw in the south of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The station is situated on the Calder Valley Line between Bradford Interchange and Halifax.
Leeds New Lane was a proposed new railway station to accommodate High Speed Two rail services in West Yorkshire, England. It was planned to be constructed on a viaduct on New Lane south of Leeds city centre, the River Aire and Leeds City station to which it would be connected by an elevated walkway. The site is occupied by Central Park, a small low-rise office park built in the 1990s and other small office buildings.
The Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway (LB&HJR) was an English railway company. It built a line between Bradford and Leeds, and had running powers over the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway to Halifax. It opened its main line in 1854 and later built a number of branch lines.
The Holbeck Viaduct Project is a community project that proposes bringing the Holbeck Viaduct in Leeds, England back into public use. The project is supported by a community group of the same name.
The Nidderdale Greenway is a 4-mile (6.4 km) path that runs between Harrogate and Ripley in North Yorkshire, England. It uses a former railway line that ran between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge as its course. The route connects to other cycle paths including the Way of the Roses.
Heckmondwike Spen was a railway station opened by the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, England. The station was one of two in the town of Heckmondwike, the other being Heckmondwike railway station which was opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (L&Y). Both stations have been closed and the lines they served have closed too although the formations that they occupied have both been converted into greenways.
The Spen Valley Line was a railway that connected Mirfield with Low Moor through the Spen Valley in West Yorkshire, England. Opened up by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1847, with full opening to Low Moor in 1848, the line served a busy industrial and textile area and allowed a connection for trains between Huddersfield and Bradford. The line was absorbed by the London & North Western Railway, the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and British Railways on Nationalisation. A separate link between Heckmondwike Central and Thornhill that opened later and was known as the Ravensthorpe Branch, allowed through running to Wakefield and beyond. The line was closed down to passengers in 1965 with freight continuing sporadically until 1981. A Spur onto the former Leeds New Line from the Ravensthorpe Branch kept the very southern end open until the late 1980s. The majority of the route is now the Spen Valley Greenway cycle path.
Knaresborough Viaduct is a viaduct in the North Yorkshire town of Knaresborough, England. The viaduct carries the Harrogate line over the River Nidd in the town. The viaduct was supposed to have opened in 1848, but the first construction collapsed into the river very near to completion, which necessitated a new viaduct and delayed the opening of the line through Knaresborough by three years.