Hopes for big money to restore estate
COUNCIL BOSSES in Leeds are preparing a big-money funding bid that they hope will pay for conservation and restoration work at the city’s Temple Newsam estate.
Leeds City Council’s executive board has approved the submission of the application for a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant that could be worth more than £2m.
According to a council report compiled for the executive board, key elements of the proposed project would include the restoration of Temple Newsam’s Sphinx Gates and Avenue Bridge.
Improvements to the estate’s Grade II-listed Little Temple building, including the fixing of its roof and repairs to its stonework, would form another part of the scheme.
A new path would also reinstate a route from the end of the East Avenue to the south-eastern corner of Temple Newsam House.
The report says the bid has the backing of the Friends of Temple Newsam group and describes it as “an opportunity to implement a restoration plan to improve the condition of heritage features and engage the community to deliver a sustainable future for the park”.
It also warns, however, that the relevant deadline for grant applications is August this year and so the bid team will be “working to a tight timescale”.
The executive board approved a potential £100,000 in match funding from the council which would support any successful bid.
Restoration projects at Roundhay Park and Kirkstall Abbey have previously received HLF grants worth nearly £10m.