Holbeck Urban Village

[LeedsLad]

Anyone been down 'Light Neville St' recently? How's that coming along?

[di Livio]

Originally Posted by LeedsLad

Anyone been down 'Light Neville St' recently? How's that coming along?

They seem to have covered all the old walls, but the I've only seen the lighting scheme working on one occasion which was last month. It has an unfinished feel to it at the moment, but it seems to work.

[TonyYeboah]

It looks like it always did, only with fairy lights on the walls. I think a new ceiling will make all the difference, but I don't know if it's planned

[aviator]

Originally Posted by LeedsLad

Anyone been down 'Light Neville St' recently? How's that coming along?

Here's your answer

Leeds Neville Street: New lighting scheme launched


The new lighting scheme on Neville Street in Leeds.

Published Date: 23 October 2009

By Debbie Leigh

A multi-million pound project to transform a dark tunnel that is one of the major gateways into Leeds has been unveiled today. The 13,000 people who use the road daily will now arrive in the city through a welcoming gateway that features innovative light and sound.

Neville Street, that runs under the tracks of Leeds City Station now boasts work by world-famous German artist Hans Peter Kuhn, who teamed up with leading architects, engineers, and acoustic experts to improve lighting, reduce traffic noise and alter people's perceptions about safety in the previously dingy area.

The thoroughfare next to the Dark Arches is home to light and sound installations, along with a light installation by Leeds artist Andy Edwards.
Their work incorporates thousands of tiny lights, plus a soundtrack of ambient noise which fills the space to make the traffic sound quieter. The volume fluctuates in response to how busy the route is.

The lights and sound were switched on for the first time this morning. The £4.6m scheme has been funded by Leeds City Council and regeneration organisations Yorkshire Forward and the Northern Way.

Council deputy leader Coun Andrew Carter said: "It not only looks better, feels safer and sounds incredible, but it shows the rest of the world that Leeds is an ambitious, 'can-do' and industrious city." Yorkshire Forward's executive director for environment, Jan Anderson, hailed the finished product as "unique and inviting".

Neville Street is a key link between the city centre and Holbeck Urban Village but the route was criticised by users as dull, dark and noisy. Work came to a temporary halt after the lead contractor, Wrekin Construction, went into administration in March last year but Scunthorpe firm Saferoad BLG – formerly Balmer Lindley Group – took over the project five months later.

[pss53]

Might have a drive through tonight, i'll get our lass to film it so u can see it...

[oyster]

Originally Posted by aviator

...but it shows the rest of the world that Leeds is an ambitious, 'can-do' and industrious city

Did anyone else laugh when they read this? Don't get me wrong, I really really like this, but surely it's going to take more than some lights in a tunnel to "show the world". Still, it's a marked improvement on the adjacent swinegate tunnel; did they really think adding those dim coloured lights would really do much for it. At least clean the tiles in there!

[di Livio]

Apprarently the tiles couldn't be cleaned so they put the coloured lights in the tunnel to mask the grime. Nobody thought of painting them?

[TonyYeboah]

£4.6m?

[Leeds No.1]

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.u...-of.5763574.jp
Light at the end of the Leeds tunnel

24 October 2009
Debbie Leigh

A £4.6m project to transform one of the busiest routes into Leeds has met with mixed reviews from commuters.
The scheme turned the dark, dingy tunnel which pedestrians felt unsafe in – into a brighter route with wider walkways, noise-reducing panels, and art and sound installations.

Funding for the two-year 'Light' Neville Street programme came from Leeds City Council – £2m, Yorkshire Forward – £1.95m and Northern Way – £646,000.

Some of the 13,000 people that use the route every day said it wasn't worth the expense.

But others recalled the graffiti, dripping roof, sense of apprehension and almost deafening noise before the changes, and declared it money well spent.

Paul Dixon, 32, has been using the tunnel every day for five years.
He said: "It's a pretty good improvement. It was a bit grim before."
He added it was worth the investment.

World-famous artist Hans Peter Kuhn used 3,000 LEDs in horizontal and vertical lines, which change every day – no pattern will ever be repeated for the next 20 years.

The artist, based in Berlin, also created a soundtrack using hundreds of short compositions made up of sounds such as birdsong and traffic, to create ambient noise through the tunnel aimed at filling the space, making the noise from traffic quieter and more consistent.

He said: "This is not just innovative for Leeds, this is unique.
"I don't think there's any similar situation."

Chris Ballard, 47, has used the walkway for 12 years.

He said: "It was a bit grim before and noisy – it's still noisy."
He added: "Value for money?

"Not worth it."

The installation on the west wall is by Leeds artist Andy Edwards, who used layers of metal to create the illusion of movement - partly designed to increase drivers' speed awareness.

Leading architects, engineers, and acoustic experts, many of whom were local, worked on the project.

Lisa Pickup, who has used the route daily for three years, said: "To be honest I don't think I'd even noticed the changes."

The 30-year-old, who works at The Halifax, said: "It's not worth it."
But Tony Dixon, 37, disagreed.

He said: "It looks quite interesting.

"Quite a few of us have to walk through here late at night and I think it makes it look a little more appealing and a bit safer."

He added: "It's better than it was.

"People had whinged about it for a long time."

He said: "These things do cost a lot of money."

Rachel Haley, 22, said: "I'm glad it's a bit lighter, it was too dark – anyone could have got mugged before."

Asked whether it was worth the cost, she said: "In a way yes, but in other ways I think it's a bit over the top."

Dot Vickers, who has used Neville Street daily for two years, said: "It doesn't look finished, but it's certainly an improvement. It was a real mess with all the graffiti."

[Stefan88]

I walked through it yesterday and to be honest, it's not amazing. The spotlight things on the top look like lights that are used on a building site. They just look like an afterthought and are also far too bright and shine in your face. Why couldn't they put some nice lighting on the ceiling of the tunnel?
I expected it to look a lot better really.

[rabbits field]

I used to walk through here when I worked in Holbeck a few years ago. I remember the tunnel being extremely noisy and also rather smelly. Would be interesting to see how this installation has changed things next time I'm up in Leeds.

Hopefully maintenance, wear and tear, and vandalism won't become too much of an issue. (Do the fountains in City Square work properly yet btw?!)

[Leeds No.1]

To be fair, the fountains in City Square are on more often than they're off.

[Val Verde]

Originally Posted by TonyYeboah

£4.6m?

Certainly it is quite a fair amount that £4.6 million. Could it have been better to have used that to fund part of the cost for the planned southern entrance of Leeds station. Still it does look a bit better than it did before although nothing spectacular and it would have been better had the lights had flashed imo as opposed to remain static. Wouldn't the new wall also require regular cleaning so it doesn't become too dirty through traffic fumes?

As the roof I rather like it the way it is at present and would rather if it didn't get covered over in cladding.

[oyster]

I walked through it last night and took some photos. Have to say I actually really like it. Certainly a welcome change and made for a more interesting experience than simply walking through a tunnel... The traffic was fairly light at the time and I could hear the sound effects loud and clear. Some strange noises, but they sound pretty cool.

[Stefan88]

The sound of the trains above you gives you the impression of a big bustling city I think. It's quite cool.

[wiggleyleeds]

is it completely finished then? Im sure i drove thru it about 10 days ago and thought god when are they gonna finish this it looks a mess and not much has changed since before they started work on - it would be funny if it was actually completed when i thought that

[oyster]

Yeah, to be honest it does still feel a little unfinished, although I do believe that officially it is complete. As has been said before, the big lights seem like a bit of an afterthought and could have been much better thought out. But it's definitely a grower, I quite like it.

[Republica]

Dissapointed in those big lights - when it was U/C i also presumed they were big builder spotlgihts to see what they were doing.

[oyster]

Originally Posted by Republica

when it was U/C i also presumed they were big builder spotlgihts to see what they were doing.

Me too.

[Leeds No.1]

I walked through the tunnel today. I like it- is it only on one side though?

Also I think it would be even more interesting if it was moving rather than just static lights.