Fire breaks out in Royal Park Road playground in Hyde Park

A playground in Hyde Park was in flames this afternoon (Monday) after a fire broke out.

A call from a member of the public was made at 13:15 reporting a fire in the Royal Park gardens, which is currently under development.
In a statement, the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Two crews from Hunslet were dispatched and got on the scene within around 5 minutes (13:21). The fire was put out by 14:04.”

Smoke was seen billowing out from the playground into the neighbouring streets.

The playground is part of a £500,000 redevelopment project by Leeds City Council. The site was home to Royal Park school which was demolished in 2014 and was left in a state of disrepair until the project began in 2020. It was due to open imminently.

Councillors Al Garthwaite, Abdul Hannan and Jonathan Pryor who represent Headingley, Hyde Park & Woodhouse said:

“Hugely saddened to report that a new piece of play equipment on the soon-to-be opened Royal Park Gardens site has been burnt down.

Huge thanks to the fire crews who contained the fire to only one small section and limited the damage.

We’ve been down to inspect the site and the damage this afternoon, but if anyone has any information please do get in touch with us.

We’ll now be working to replace this section before the new park is open to the public.”

The cause of the fire has not yet been identified.

Image: Josh Elgin