Video: Hive of activity as city office roof becomes bee's knees for willing workers

ON the roof of a six-storey office block in Leeds, workers from two worlds are learning to live in harmony.

The boom in urban bee-keeping could hardly be better illustrated than by Leeds Building Society's decision to install a hive on top of its headquarters on the corner of Albion Street and The Headrow.

The project grew out of a refurbishment of the 1930s building which has earned a certificate for environmental effort from the Carbon Trust.

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A "green team" representing the 450 staff contributed ideas, including the bee hive, which was installed in June, with 20,000 residents, by Bill Cadmore, a former teacher now making a living as a travelling apiarist.

The society's operations director, Phil Hall, said: "Nobody has been stung yet. And now, I think, we are all comfortable with living with the bees. We started out curious, now we are enthusiastic and looking forward to getting our first honey in spring next year."

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