Cbloxx mural at Penny Pocket Park — Leeds 2026

Key Points

• An international, Yorkshire-born artist, Cbloxx (Jay Gilleard) has completed a large mural in Penny Pocket Park, Leeds, adjacent to Leeds Minster.
• The mural, located on Church Walk beneath railway viaduct arches, features giant owls, underwater scenes, and a carved face motif referencing memory and mythology.
• The artwork symbolises the nearby River Aire and alludes to Leeds’s industrial past and the park’s former use as a parish church graveyard.
• Community interest company Getting Clean helped prepare the site through planting and cleaning; the mural forms part of a wider park regeneration project.
• Proposed future improvements (subject to consultation) include better footpaths, lighting, more seating, and landscaping around Penny Pocket Park and Leeds Minster.
• Leeds City Councillors Asghar Khan and Mohammed Rafique welcomed the mural as part of Leeds’s regeneration ambitions.
• The mural was funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, administered locally by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
• The project is a collaboration between Leeds City Council, Groundwork Yorkshire, Wade’s Charity, Leeds Minster, and Leeds Civic Trust.

Leeds Penny Pocket Park (The Leeds Times) May 15, 2026 – An internationally recognised, Yorkshire-born multidisciplinary artist known as Cbloxx, whose real name is Jay Gilleard, has unveiled a large-scale mural in Penny Pocket Park, a small green space beside Leeds Minster. The mural, painted on the viaduct wall on Church Walk under the railway tracks, reimagines the park as a site shaped by memory and mythology, combining imagery of flying owls, underwater scenes, and a carved rock-face motif to reference the River Aire and the city’s industrial past.

What does the mural depict and what meanings has the artist said it carries?

“looks at how something older still exists beneath the surface of the city — how landscape, mythology and memory continue to shape how we move through space, even when we no longer see them.”

The mural’s principal images include two giant owls shown in flight above the scene, aquatic elements evoking the nearby River Aire, and a carved face emerging from a rock wall.

Those elements are intended to signal layers of history and folklore that persist beneath modern urban life.

How does the artwork relate to the park’s historical context?

Penny Pocket Park occupies land that was originally the graveyard of Leeds Parish Church (now Leeds Minster). Historical accounts note that when the railway line was built in the 1860s, large quantities of soil were placed over the existing graves to form the incline, and the gravestones were re-laid in their original positions along the railway slope.

The mural makes explicit reference to this layered history by using imagery that suggests older landscapes and buried narratives still influence the present-day environment.

Which organisations and community groups were involved in the project?

Leeds City Council led the public commissioning and collaborated with Groundwork Yorkshire, Wade’s Charity, Leeds Minster, and Leeds Civic Trust to deliver the project.

Community interest company Getting Clean supported site preparation, including planting sunflower seeds and cleaning tasks, and provided volunteer opportunities for people in recovery and local residents engaged in the park’s revitalisation.

Who funded the mural, and what funding body administered the support?

The mural was funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, a national government programme. The funding was administered at the local level by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which allocated resources to support the public art element as part of wider investment in the city centre environment.

What have local elected officials said about the mural and the wider park project?

Councillor Asghar Khan, Leeds City Council’s executive member for communities, customer service and community safety, and Councillor Mohammed Rafique, executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space, said the council is

“always working hard to make our parks and green spaces feel welcoming and safe for all residents and visitors.”

They described Penny Pocket Park as “a key gateway into and out of the city centre” and praised the mural for uplifting and celebrating the heart of Leeds and inviting people to enjoy the park.

What practical changes and future improvements are proposed for Penny Pocket Park?
Subject to public consultation, proposed plans include improving footpaths and lighting, installing more seating, and carrying out further landscaping works.

These measures are intended to make the park more welcoming and safer, encourage greater use by local people and visitors, and support the broader aim outlined in the Leeds Ambitions roadmap to help the city reach its full potential.

What role did Getting Clean play in the project, and how does that link to the community?

Getting Clean, a community interest company that provides peer support to people in addiction recovery, contributed to the project by organising volunteers to plant sunflower seeds and participate in cleaning the park in preparation for the mural painting.

The group’s involvement provided practical help and offered volunteering and inclusion opportunities for people invested in local community improvements.

Who are the collaborators and what are their responsibilities?

Leeds City Council coordinated the commissioning and public realm work; Groundwork Yorkshire typically provides community-led regeneration and environmental management; Wade’s Charity has a history of supporting local civic and community projects;

Leeds Minster provided support given the site’s proximity and historical connection; and Leeds Civic Trust contributed heritage and civic oversight perspectives. Together, these partners sought to combine public art, community engagement and place-making as part of a coordinated regeneration scheme.

How does the mural connect to Leeds’s cultural and urban development agenda?

The project ties into the council’s Leeds Ambitions, a strategic roadmap emphasizing improvements to green spaces, cultural activation and city-centre accessibility.

By using public art to transform an otherwise transitional thoroughfare into a place with visual character and historical reference points, the council and partners aim to enhance civic pride, encourage footfall and contribute to the city’s cultural offer.

Who documented or reported on the unveiling and where were statements published?

Statements by the artist and by councillors, and descriptions of the mural and project partners, were published in Leeds City Council communications and local media releases tied to the council and partner organisations.

Artist comments were reported directly from Jay Gilleard’s public statement on the work. Quotes from councillors Asghar Khan and Mohammed Rafique originate from the council’s announcement about the project.

Background of the development

Penny Pocket Park sits in a long-standing historical corridor adjoining Leeds Minster and a Victorian railway viaduct. Historically, the parcel formed part of the churchyard for Leeds Parish Church. When railway construction in the 1860s reshaped the landscape, gravestones were lifted, soil was added to create the required incline, and the stones were re-laid along the railway slope where they remain visible today. Over the decades the park became a small urban green space, used mainly as a passage between city-centre locations. In recent years, Leeds City Council and partner organisations have pursued incremental public realm improvements across the city centre to address accessibility, safety and activation of underused spaces.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund, intended to replace and refocus certain EU structural funds after Brexit, has provided financing for local projects that can demonstrate community benefit and place-making outcomes; in West Yorkshire this fund is overseen locally by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Community organisations such as Getting Clean and civic bodies like Leeds Civic Trust have increasingly been involved in place-based projects to combine social aims—such as volunteering and recovery support—with tangible improvements to local environments.

Prediction: how might this development affect local residents, visitors and stakeholders?

• Residents: The mural and proposed improvements to lighting, seating and paths are likely to make Penny Pocket Park feel safer and more inviting, which could increase local use for leisure and short breaks. Visible community involvement (for example via Getting Clean) may strengthen local ownership and encourage further resident-led activity in the park.
• Visitors and city-centre users: Enhanced visual character and clearer wayfinding through an uplifted public space may improve pedestrian experience between Leeds Minster and adjacent shopping or cultural areas, increasing footfall and dwell time in nearby premises.
• Leeds Minster and nearby heritage stakeholders: The project emphasises the historical narrative of the site; sensitive interpretation and consultation will be important to balance public art with heritage preservation and to address any concerns about treatment of former burial ground features.
• Local government and funders: If the mural and early park improvements are positively received, they could serve as a demonstrable example of effective use of Shared Prosperity Fund money and encourage further investment in similar interventions across the city.
• Community organisations and volunteering groups: The collaboration offers a model for pairing artistic placemaking with social outcomes—volunteering opportunities, skills development and inclusion—that could attract further funding and partnerships for local initiatives.
• Businesses and footfall-dependent services: An eye-catching mural and a more pleasant park environment may marginally boost nearby businesses through increased pedestrian traffic, but longer-term economic impacts will depend on wider regeneration measures and consistent upkeep of the space.