Students from Leeds Beckett University are working with Yorkshire Contemporary and local Beeston residents to turn Rowland Road Working Men’s Club’s previously derelict backyard into a thriving community adventure playground. The site has been reimagined as the Rowland Road Play Patch – a free, inclusive outdoor space designed for creativity, exploration and community-led play.
Through this partnership, staff and students from Leeds Beckett University have contributed their specialist expertise in Childhood Development and Playwork and Landscape Architecture, with students embedded through placements and ongoing volunteering, bringing together academic learning to real-world community practice in support of the community’s aim to create an enduring resource for local children.
Learning through community engagement
Two final-year Childhood Development and Playwork students, Erykah Bourke and Isabel Wagstaff, completed their work placements at the Play Patch last year and have continued to volunteer since. Their involvement has included supporting play sessions, engaging with families and helping shape the evolving use of the space alongside the local community.
Erykah said:
“I have absolutely loved doing the placement and getting involved. Every visit [is] something new. The best part of this whole project is the people there. The sense of community spirit at Rowland Road is truly inspiring.”
Isabel added:
“I loved being able to be a part of such a community-based project. My best part of this project was seeing the transformation from going to a neglected area at the back of a working men’s club to somewhere inviting, with children coming through the gates with big smiles on their face not wanting to leave, as this showed the positive impact we all made.”
The Yorkshire Contemporary project continues to be supported by Leeds Beckett course staff, with monthly volunteering currently taking place and plans to increase student involvement during Semester Two. Erykah is also focusing her final-year dissertation on the Play Patch, exploring its wider social and community impact.
Landscape Architecture students worked alongside Playwork students and community partners to design and develop the outdoor environment, transforming the neglected site into a flexible adventure playground that encourages building, planting, creativity and free play.
One of those students, Poppy West, worked at the Play Patch as part of a 12-week Design & Community module. She said:
“My favourite part about working on this project was using the relationships formed with the community to inform our designs. From our weekly visits, we got to know the children and volunteers, how they liked to play and what was important to them. This could then inform how I designed play on the site.”
A space shaped by the community
The Rowland Road Play Patch is open every Saturday from 11am to 2pm and is free for everyone to access. The space has been designed to be welcoming and inclusive, with step-free access, accessible toilets and changing facilities, seating areas, and support for neurodivergent visitors, including sensory backpacks and visual stories.
Crucially, the Play Patch is community-led. Children, families and local residents are encouraged to shape how the space develops, ensuring it reflects local needs and ideas.
Working alongside Yorkshire Contemporary and Rowland Road Working Men’s Club, the project highlights Leeds Beckett University’s commitment to working with and supporting the city, while giving students hands-on experience of real-world collaboration, inclusive design and community engagement.
By combining academic learning with volunteering, design practice and social impact, students are helping to create a space that not only supports play and wellbeing but also strengthens community connections in Beeston.
This post is based on a press release issued by Leeds Beckett University
Photo: Rowland Road Play Patch, courtesy of Yorkshire Contemporary, Image: Jules Lister
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