Rowland Road Play Patch celebrates its first birthday on Saturday (28 March 2026) marking one year since the community-led play space opened behind Rowland Road Working Men’s Club in Beeston Hill.
Working in partnership with Yorkshire Contemporary, the Club has transformed a derelict piece of land into an inclusive, creative outdoor play space in an area with limited safe green space. At the Play Patch, art is not just decorative; it is a deliberate strategy for social change, building trust, strengthening relationships and giving the community ownership of a local space that has long been overlooked.
The birthday celebration will bring together families, volunteers, artists and partners to honour everything that has been built collectively over the past year. Visitors can expect open play for all ages, creative workshops, party activities, birthday games and a craft fair hosted in partnership with Beeston Hill Community Association.
This first anniversary is more than a party. It is a moment to recognise what can happen when artists, volunteers, families and local institutions work together to reimagine overlooked spaces as places of joy, care and possibility.
Everyone is welcome to join us on this happy occasion.
The project has attracted praise from across the city:
Alexandra Long, Leeds Beckett University (Course Director, BA (Hons) Childhood Development & Playwork) said:
“The project has brought together an unlikely cross-section of the community, unified in the aim of meeting the play needs of local children. This unique project has opened the doors of a local Working Men’s Club to the children and families of a densely populated community and offers a progressive solution to sustaining community assets and opening them up to increase the social value they contribute to society. As a result of the Rowland Road Play Patch, neighbourliness and social connection is beginning to flourish, around a place for children to play.”
One volunteer reflected:
“I joined the Play Patch anxious and without the best people skills, but by the end of the first session, I felt like I had made a difference to at least one person. Helping one person can’t change the world, but it could change the world for one person. That’s what volunteering feels like.”
Jade, a local parent, said:
“The Play Patch is a breath of fresh air. Children play freely, get messy, can be curious and creative, and parents can relax, judgement free.”
Councillor Ed Carlisle (Green, Hunslet & Riverside) added:
“The Rowland Road Play Patch is one of the best community projects I’ve seen or been part of here in inner-south Leeds… Innovative. Cooperative. Well-organised. And inspiring and popular amongst local people.”
This post is based on a press release issued by Yorkshire Contemporary
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