1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Leeds
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
The Cardinal Pocket Park
Short description of the intervention
A government funding scheme was announced to benefit urban areas with few green spaces. (2) After extensive consultation with local residents, trees were chosen to minimise shade and leaf litter. White Rose Residents Association won a competition against ten other bids from around West Yorkshire to secure a £10,000 grant for the trees. The Government fund provided to the Cardinals White Rose Residents Association was used to buy and plant 15 mature trees, which were picked for their year-round colour. (1)
Address

Cardinal Square
Leeds
LS11 8PW
United Kingdom

Location
The NBS is situated in an area, with clear delineation of boundaries and a specific shape (polygon). The NBS project can also have more than one area location (more than one polygon, situated close by).
Area boundary
POINT (-1.570759 53.76679)
POINT (-1.568901 53.76715)
POINT (-1.568474 53.766316)
POINT (-1.570386 53.76591)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cardinal+Square,+Beeston,+Leeds,+UK/@53.7667426,-1.5702095,18z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x48795e617cbc2f97:0x8cddbe697620c939!8m2!3d53.7667046!4d-1.5707567
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Previous derelict area
Website of the intervention
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/green-light-given-to-over-80-pocket-parks
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2016
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2016
End date of the intervention
2016
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
To increase the availability of green space in order to draw more people outside, giving resident more space to relax, get together with neighbours, grow food and provide a safe space for children to play. (2) After extensive consultation with local residents trees with an upright habit was chosen to minimise shade and leaf litter. (1)
Quantitative targets
15 mature Himalayan Birches trees (1)
Monitoring indicators defined
Number of trees (1)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social interaction
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Implementation activities
The Cardinal Pocket Park was earmarked for a neglected former allotment site on the Cardinals Estate in Beeston. It included the installation of raised beds for the community to plant up with flowers and vegetables. (2) Meanwhile the White Rose Residents Association used £10,000 of the funding to buy and plant 15 mature trees, which were picked for their year round colour. (1)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Parks and urban forests
Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Community gardens and allotments
Community gardens
Please specify the number of plots or allotment gardens
Unknown
Vegetation Type
Trees
Please specify how many trees were planted
15
Please specify other amenities offered by the NBS

Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Cultural services
Recreation
Mental and physical health and wellbeing
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Led by non-government actors
Non-government actors
Citizens or community groups
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The Cardinals White Rose Residents Association won a competition against ten other bids from around West Yorkshire to secure a £10,000 grant for a row of Himalayan Birches trees to be planted in Cardinal Square, with rest used for other features. (1, 2, 3) It was one of five Leeds community groups to have been awarded a share of a £1.5 million Government fund to transform neglected urban spaces into ‘pocket parks.’ (2) The funding was called TD Green Streets. (1)
Key actors - initiating organization
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
National government
Local government/municipality
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Co-management/Joint management
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the national regulations/strategy/plan
The funding for the project was announced by Communities secretary Greg Clark to benefit urban areas with few green spaces, delivering on the government’s manifesto commitment to deliver pocket parks across the UK. (5) The Communities Secretary Greg Clark said the availability of green space draws more people outside, giving resident more space to relax, get together with neighbours, grow food and provide a safe space for children to play. (2) This programme was cited in the Conservative government's 2015 policy manifesto as a plan to protect and build "small areas of inviting public space where people can enjoy relief from the hustle and bustle of city streets". (7)
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
No
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The funding for the project was announced by Communities secretary Greg Clark to benefit urban areas with few green spaces, delivering on the government’s manifesto commitment to deliver pocket parks across the UK, including many in Leeds. (5) This programme was cited in the Conservative government's 2015 policy manifesto as a plan to protect and build "small areas of inviting public space where people can enjoy relief from the hustle and bustle of city streets". (7) The funding called TD Green Streets is a partnership between TD Direct Investing and the Community Forest Trust. (1)
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
€10,000 - €50,000
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
17000 EUR
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
£15,000 (2) (€17079.96)

The Cardinals White Rose Residents Association won a competition against ten other bids from around West Yorkshire to secure a £10,000 grant for a row of Himalayan Birches trees to be planted in Cardinal Square, with rest used for other features. (1, 2, 3) It was one of five Leeds community groups to have been awarded a share of a £1.5 million Government fund to transform neglected urban spaces into ‘pocket parks.’ (2) The funding was called TD Green Streets. (1)
Source(s) of funding
Public national budget
Type of fund(s) used
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Green densification model
Local stewardship model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Citizens / local communities
Type of innovation
Social
Economic innovation
Governance innovation
Please specify social innovation
It was announced as part of a funding scheme to benefit urban areas with few green spaces, delivering on the government’s manifesto commitment to deliver pocket parks across the UK. (5, 7) The Cardinals White Rose Residents Association was one of five Leeds community groups to have been awarded a share of a £1.5 million Government fund to transform neglected urban spaces into ‘pocket parks.’ (2) The funding was called TD Green Streets. (1)
Novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Green space and habitat
Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
Increased green space area
Restoration of derelict areas
Description of environmental benefits
The Cardinal Pocket Park was earmarked for a neglected former allotment site on the Cardinals Estate in Beeston. The project included the installation of raised beds for the community to plant up with flowers and vegetables. (2) Meanwhile, the White Rose Residents Association used £10,000 of the funding to buy and plant 15 mature trees, which were picked for their year-round colour. (1)
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Improved social cohesion
Improved access to urban green space
Health and wellbeing
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Description of social and cultural benefits
The project improved the availability of green space in order to draw more people outside, giving resident more space to relax, get together with neighbours, grow food and provide a safe space for children to play. (2)
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Number of planted mature trees (1).
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of 17 October 2020
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
Yes
Link to a web-based monitoring tool
http://communities.maps.arcgis.com/apps/StoryMapBasic/index.html?appid=eb4c1ca5…
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
Yes
Link to GIS monitoring data
http://communities.maps.arcgis.com/apps/StoryMapBasic/index.html?appid=eb4c1ca5…
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
(1) New trees take root in the Cardinals
(2) New ‘pocket parks’ to boost recreation in Leeds
(3) The Cardinals White Rose Residents Association
(4) 'Pocket parks' plan for unloved spaces in Leeds'
(5) Green light given to over 80 pocket parks
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
(6) Green Infrastructure Refresh (243.39 KB) 243.39 KB
(7) Conservative Manifesto (2.42 MB) 2.42 MB
List of references
(1) Morton, Jeremy. (2016). New trees take root in the Cardinals. http://www.southleedslife.com/new-trees-take-root-in-the-cardinals/ [Accessed 7 October 2020]
(2) Yorkshire Evening Post. (2016). New ‘pocket parks’ to boost recreation in Leeds. [Website unavailable in 2020]
(3) SouthLeedsLife. (2016). Event: Cardinal Residents Association (Beeston). [Website unavailable in 2020]
(4) BBC. (2016). 'Pocket parks' plan for unloved spaces in Leeds'. [Website unavailable in 2020]
(5) Department for Communities and Local Government. (2016). Green light given to over 80 pocket parks. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/green-light-given-to-over-80-pocket-parks [Accessed 7 October 2020]
(6) Collings, Noel. (2016). Report to: Transport Committee: Date: 1 July 2016: Subject: Green Infrastructure Refresh. [Document attached]
(7) Conservative Party. (2015). THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY MANIFESTO 2015. [Document attached]
Interview
Attachment Size
Leeds Cardinal Pocket Park Interview (15.82 KB) 15.82 KB
Interview comments
I have contacted Yvonne Crowther as Member of the White Rose Residents’ Association asking what can be seen in the interview attached file.
Comments and notes
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/1cpp.jpg
Public Images
The Cardinal Pocket Park (1)
The Cardinal Pocket Park (1)