AROUND £3 million is to be spent on creating a 'showpiece country park' at High Royds if housing developers get the go-ahead.

The Raven Group has just revealed detailed plans for landscaping the 206-acre grounds of the former psychiatric hospital in Menston as part of its planned 600-home redevelopment project.

Working with Country and Metropolitan Homes, Raven says it intends to restore the land to its former glory by using plans from the original county surveyor, Vickers Edwards, to recreate historic gardens and parkland.

The parkland restoration project, prepared by landscape design architects BHWB, also aims to open up the area to walkers, bird watchers, wildlife enthusiasts, cyclists and horse riders.

The scheme will involve:

l Planting 35,000 trees to fully restore and enhance the existing High Royds wood and tree belts along Bradford Road, Bingley Road and Guiseley Drive

l A maintenance programme to preserve existing meadows and ensure they sustain a wide range of wild flowers, providing an ideal breeding ground for birds

l Creating a new wildlife pond in the south-east corner of the site, to provide a new wetland habitat and relieve waterlogging downstream of the nearby Mire Beck

l Laying out a four kilometre network of sign-posted footpaths and bridleways, with stiles and gates, criss-crossing the site to improve accessibility and provide a direct link with Menston Park

l Building a three-metre wide path, which will circle the entire site in an attractive nature walk.

BHWB also plans to create communal gardens with sweeping lawns, to reinstate the original orchard at the hospital entrance and to provide park and play areas.

Rare bird species, including wading birds such as the curlew, lapwing and snipe, would also be reintroduced to the site under the plans.

Project developer Ben Krauze said: "The aim throughout has been to protect and enhance the setting of the original hospital and the green belt areas.

"We want as many people as possible to enjoy all the aspects of a country park. Importantly, the impact of the buildings on the landscape will be no greater than it is at present in accordance with planning guidelines.

"The fact that the development will only cover the footprint of existing buildings is key in ensuring a carefully balanced, sustainable development in a truly outstanding parkland setting."

A large, ornate fountain is also planned for the centre of the site as both a focal point for the new development and a memorial to the old hospital, whose oldest buildings were built between 1884 and 1888.

The whole development, which is facing some strong local opposition from people worried about its scale and the impact on traffic, is intended to be within a village-style setting complete with courtyards and sculptures.

The plans, which have been praised by Leeds Trust, are due to be debated by Leeds City Council's Plans Panel (West) on Thursday, January 22.