WORK to create a new Covid memorial woodland in West Yorkshire has started this week at the former South Leeds Golf Course site.

The 48-acre space is set to become a new country park, as per plans released last year by Leeds City Council and the Leeds Hospitals Charity, and will also include a ‘Peoples Woodland’, creating a space to remember loved ones who lost their lives during the pandemic.

The plans also include new habitats are planned, more than 20,000 trees, wildflower meadows and wetland habitat.

Leeds City Council’s executive member for public health Coun Salma Arif (Lab) said: “We hope that by creating this beautiful woodland it will provide people with a space to reflect, unwind and take in the peaceful surroundings; while also enjoying the recreational opportunities the parkland offers.

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“It will also help us deliver our commitment to ensuring all our communities have access to quality parks and green space and will positively contribute towards our ambition of being carbon neutral by 2030.”

Esther Wakeman, Chief Executive at Leeds Hospitals Charity, said: “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Leeds City Council on this wonderful project. We hope that The People’s Woodland will create a space where people from communities across Leeds can come together and support their local NHS hospitals.”

Plans released last year for the work included a “five kilometre activity zone”, walking trails adjacent to Middleton Park, and even new cycle trails. A Covid-19 Memorial Woodland, which will pay tribute to those Leeds residents and front-line workers who lost their lives due to Covid-19, would be the site’s centrepiece.

Work is expected to be complete at some point in the coming months.