Play streets map

What’s happening in Leeds?

This area is a Play Street Beacon, which means there are individual play street experts you can contact in this area for advice and support in your area. Click on the link for more information on our Beacon areas.

Leeds council launched its street play policy in May 2015, which allows residents to apply for closures up to once a week. For full details visit the council’s street play page.

Link up with others and get support.

Street play in Leeds was pioneered by neighbours in one street which has been playing out regularly since September 2011 – you can watch a news piece on Made in Leeds TV showing their street on a playing out day.

The same street featured on BBC Radio 4 PM programme in March 2014 in which children and adults who live there talked about what playing out has meant for them. Listen to the report.

The Play Streets Enablement Project was developed following conversations between Leeds City Council’s Public Health Children and Families Team and third-sector organisation Fall Into Place, as the UK emerged from the lockdown of early 2021. In total, 12 new play streets were established in priority areas in the course of the project, some of which have continued to be held regularly. You can see some of these play streets in action in this brilliant video made by Leeds City Council and Fall into Place in 2022. You can also read and download this report about the project written by Professor Alison Stenning, which evaluates the success of the project and makes lots of useful recommendations about how to enable and empower families to take the lead and ensure that their children continue to benefit from increased play opportunities. Kidz Klub Leeds is a wonderful community organisation supporting play streets in different areas of Leeds who were also involved in this project.

If you’d like information or help and support about street play in Leeds please get in touch with volunteer activator Sarah Priestley; Sarah tells her story in The Yorkshire Post here in an article about the Summer of Play 2021.

Here’s a great shot of resident activators (and Damien Hirst!) publicising Playing Out in Leeds as part of Clean Air Day 2019.