A new permanent gazebo will be built in Cross Flatts Park, Beeston after local parkrun organisers were granted £2,000 through Leeds Building Society’s Community Reward Scheme.
The initiative, launched in partnership with parkrun, supports participants of parkrun events with projects that make a long-term, positive community difference.
Cross Flatts parkrun, founded by Mark Hodgkinson, has been operating in the park since 2013 and now welcomes 150 participants every Saturday morning.
The organisers of the event have been granted £2,000 for a new permanent gazebo in the park close to the start and finish line, which will be used for shelter in poor weather.
Phil Hodgson, a core volunteer at Cross Flatts parkrun, said:
“The funding from Leeds Building Society’s Community Reward Scheme will help us improve the facilities of the park, not just for parkrunners, but also the wider community.
“The new gazebo will provide much-needed shelter for our volunteers and parkrunners, particularly in the winter months, and allows us to give something back to the park to benefit everyone.”
The project is expected to be completed and available for use before the end of the year.
Nikki Marsh, Director of Customer & Digital at Leeds Building Society, said:
“Our Community Reward Scheme provides funding for projects that will make a difference to communities that help support parkrun events.
“This project at Cross Flatts parkrun embodies the purpose of our partnership, bringing the local community together and delivering facilities that will benefit everyone who uses the park.”
Leeds Building Society and parkrun launched the Community Reward Scheme to celebrate a year of partnership between the two organisations. The scheme is open to participants of parkrun events nationwide and offers grants and practical support to initiatives that make a long-term, positive difference in their communities.
Applications for the Community Reward Scheme can be made through the Leeds Building Society website.
parkrun is a free weekly, timed 5km run or walk, organised by volunteers. It takes place every Saturday morning at 9am in over 500 parks across the UK including Cross Flatts Park (near the Beeston Road gates) and Middleton Woods (Leeds Urban Bike Park). Everyone, of all abilities, is welcome.
I lived in the area from 1946 to 1956 and went to Cross Flatts Park infants and junior school. I can remember an old shelter near the bowls green that was popular with retired men smoking and playing dominoes. What happened to this?