The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Cllr Al Garthwaite, attended Cross Flatts Park in Beeston this morning (12 March 2024) to unveil not one, but two plaques.
First up was a plaque to mark Beeston in Bloom’s Gold Medal awarded by Yorkshire in Bloom last year. It goes next to plaques for Gold medals in 2019 and 2022 by the door to the Watsonian Pavilion in the park.
Unveiling the plaque, the Lord Mayor said:
“Many congratulations to Beeston in Bloom. I know what a worthwhile and hard-working organisation you are. People come out in all weathers to make our area more beautiful. So congratulations on this very well-deserved award and I’m sure you’ll do equally as well in the future.”
Then it was time to unveil the new Heritage Trail in the park. Ten information boards have been installed around the park showing aspects of the park’s history including old maps of the area, the wildlife in the park, holidays at home during the second world war and the role of Thomas Watson who gave his name to the Watsonian Pavilion have funded the original structure.
The Lord Mayor praised the Friends of Cross Flatts Park who held an event last September as part of the national Heritage Open Days festival. Following on from that success it was suggested that those stories should be preserved for park visitors year round. She also thanked Cllr Andrew Scopes (Labour, Beeston & Holbeck) and Cllr Paul Wray (Labour, Hunslet & Riverside) who championed the project and secured funding from the Inner South Community Committee.
Main photo: The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Cllr Al Garthwaite, unveils the heritage trail information boards with (L-R) Lady Mayoress, Hon Alderwoman Angela Gabriel, Cllr Andrew Scopes and Cllr Paul Wray.
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