A huge new garden centre is taking over a former golf course in South Leeds after council bosses green-lit a planning application earlier this month.
The company behind Tong Garden Centre can now push ahead with plans to build the facility and soft play area on what was formerly the Acanthus Golf Club off Thorpe Lane in Tingley.
The huge new £14 million development will include a 400-seater restaurant, a 1000m2 plant space, 'Grass Hoppers' indoor and outdoor play areas, and a 400m2 food hall alongside a large garden centre.
The existing outdoor play centre at Tong's Garden Centre / Image: Tong's Garden Centre
The old golf centre building will become the hub for an exciting new adventure play area set over five acres for 8 to 14-year-olds.
If it's anything like the existing Tong's site, there'll be plenty for kids to do here. Think giant outdoor inflatable pillows, a wooden adventure area with zip wire, monkey bars and rope ladders, coin-operated race cars, and even a giant sandpit.
Dining options at the original Tong's are also diverse, including carvery sandwiches, full English breakfasts, traditional fish and chips and chef's homemade pies.
The new garden centre itself is expected to have a range of home, garden and lifestyle products up for sale.
MD, Mark Farnsworth said: “Despite the challenges of having to close temporarily, the garden trade sector has proved resilient to the challenges that Covid-19 has presented, which gives us confidence for the future.
“We have made no secret of our ambitions to be a multi-site operation. We have been working on the Tingley opportunity for over two years, so we feel confident that we can deliver a fabulous experience for our visitors.
"We have learnt many valuable lessons in the five years that we have been growing Tong and we think that Tingley Garden Centre and Adventure Playground will be a great addition to the community in South Leeds."
It is hoped that the new development will create as many as 200 new jobs in the area.
News
Leeds pizza shop hailed ‘exceptional’ and ‘best in the UK’ by major reviewer
A Leeds pizza takeaway has received a glowing review from popular review duo.
Edges Pizza opened up their first permanent spot in Leeds back in June this year, after making a name for themselves slinging out pizzas at multiple pop-ups across the city.
Owners Grace and Edge from Harrogate opened Edges Pizza two years ago, taking inspiration from trips to New York over the years.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Their pizzas are a love letter to the class New York slice, think thin and crispy rather than chewy and floppy. But above all else, think absolutely delicious.
And now, they've caught the attention of a major review page, with Bite Twice Food Reviews (a page with almost 300k followers) paying Edges a visit.
The food review duo of Gerry del Guercio and Paul Delany popped up in Holbeck beneath the arches to get their hands on a pizza, and the outcome is brilliant.
In the video, Bite Twice said that the pizza is 'f**cking exceptional' and up there with 'one of the best pizzas in the UK'.
Before even taking a bite, they said: "On aesthetic, I don't think anywhere in the UK is doing pizza like this".
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Then after the first bite, they go on to say: "There are very few pizzas in the UK that create this, I’m a little bit blown away".
As Londoners themselves, they go on to say that Edges is 'easily hitting with the best that we’ve got down south'.
And if that's not high praise enough, they sign off the video saying: "Leeds has got an absolute gem. I give this a stamp so hard my foot went through the pizza. Edges. Don Level."
Yorkshire-set Christmas film by Leeds director starring Richard E. Grant set to hit UK cinemas next month
Clementine Hall
A brand-new Christmas film is hitting cinemas nationwide next month - and it’s a proper Leeds success story.
Jack Spring directed his first feature film at just 19 years old and has spent the last decade carving out a career in independent film, as well as co-founding Leeds-based production company Shush Films.
His first movie, Destination: Dewsbury, was shot just down the road in - you guessed it - Dewsbury. And after moving to Leeds from Grimsby, Jack became determined to build his business from the city, putting down roots and growing his production company here.
Image: Supplied
Now, after years of working on independent projects, Jack has taken his biggest leap yet with a brand-new Christmas film, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint.
Set in Yorkshire, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint follows Aubrey Flint, a reclusive model soldier painter with a lifelong hatred of Christmas, who is sentenced to community service at Willow Lodge - a retirement home on the brink of closure.
Roped into helping with a chaotic production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Aubrey clashes with its interesting set of residents...
And the cast is about as star-studded as it gets, featuring Richard E. Grant, John Bradley, Celia Imrie, Adjoa Andoh, Sophia Di Martino, Adrian Rawlins and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
Image: Supplied
The heartwarming festive comedy will hit cinemas nationwide on Friday 6 November - a huge milestone for a Leeds-based director and production company, taking a homegrown Yorkshire story to audiences across the country.
You just can't beat a proper wholesome British Christmas film, so you can best believe we'll be watching in the cinema, popcorn in hand.
Georgina Pellant -
7th June 2021 
