Alistair Hardaker | Images: Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council has revealed concept designs to turn Abbey House Museum into an immersive family attraction, after it was put forward for closure in 2024.
Leeds City Council has unveiled concept designs that would redevelop Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall, just two years after it was put forward for potential closure.
In 2024 the council proposed closing the museum to address budget pressures. It then agreed to keep the museum open after a public appeal, and pledged to take steps to make it more viable and sustainable.
The designs for a potential redevelopment come from a Reimagining Project supported by the council and the DCMS Museum Renewal Fund, as the museum approaches its centenary.
The council said the Grade II listed museum would become an interactive experience focused on play for people of different ages.
Proposals include reworking the museum’s traditional street facades to make them more immersive and adding hands-on activities.
Displays would draw on the museum’s toys and games, archaeology and social history collections, with flexible spaces that can change regularly.
Yorkshire architects Bauman Lyons, based in Leeds, and Halifax exhibition design consultancy Creative Core were appointed to the exploratory phase. The council says the proposals followed consultation and research, including sessions with staff, local history groups and families.
The council said it will now consult with staff, key stakeholders and the community before submitting a development application for external funding. No cost for the proposals and no timetable for any building work has yet been published.
Leeds City Council’s executive member for economy, Councillor Salma Arif said: “This is an exciting moment for the future of Abbey House Museum and one which we hope will be the beginning of a bold new direction for a special place which has been part of the Kirkstall community for centuries.
“During the public consultation on the museum’s future, what really came across was the passion and determination people have to see the site succeed, and we want to channel that enthusiasm into creating an attraction which can continue to welcome visitors for many years to come.”
The museum opened to the public in 1927, and an exhibition marking its centenary is planned for 2027.
