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St Aidan's

For other uses, see St. Aidan's (disambiguation).
RSPB St Aidan's
St Aidan's Nature Reserve1
Map showing the location of RSPB St Aidan's
Map showing the location of RSPB St Aidan's
LocationWest Yorkshire, England
Coordinates53°44′56″N 1°24′31″W / 53.749015°N 1.408653°W / 53.749015; -1.408653
Established2017
OperatorRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds

St Aidan's is a 355 hectare (877 acres) nature park located between Leeds and Castleford[1] in West Yorkshire, England. The land was formerly an opencast coal mining area that was flooded in 1988, after the riverbank collapsed. Repairs and remediation required their own Act of Parliament to allow the necessary works to go ahead.[2] Mining ceased at St Aidan's in 2002.[3]

The nature park opened to the public in May 2013 under the care of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). However, the car park and visitor centre were subsequently closed in July 2013 due to unresolved land issues.[4][5] With the successful transfer of St Aidan's to Leeds City Council, a 99-year lease was signed from the council to the RSPB in March 2017. The site is now open and functioning as an RSPB nature park. It is open every day excluding Christmas Day with the visitor centre open from 9.30 am to 5 pm February – October and 9.30 am to 4 pm November – January.[6]

RSPB St Aidan's Nature Park is designed for both people and wildlife and is open for a wide range of activities, from bird watching, cycling and walking to jogging, horse riding and dog walking.[citation needed]

Floating stages lit up on lake, silhouettes of audience. Nest (play). LEEDS 2023

In 2023, it was the location of a site-specific performance by the National Youth Theatre, entitled Nest, part of Leeds 2023.[7]

  1. ^ "St Aidan's becomes a new RSPB Nature Park". Harworth Estates. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Aire and Calder Navigation Act 1992" (PDF). Legislation. HM Gov. 16 March 1992. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. ^ "New face in the Lower Aire Valley". RSPB. RSPB. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. ^ "RSPB temporarily closes St Aidan's visitor centre". RSPB. RSPB. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  5. ^ Bellamy, Allison (22 April 2014). "Leeds nature reserve in legal limbo after land ownership row". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  6. ^ "St Aidans Nature Reserve, Leeds". The RSPB. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Leeds nature reserve to host climate change play". 5 September 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
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