A council committee was established to assess the opinions of Leeds's inhabitants. It sent delegations to other large towns including Manchester and Liverpool to investigate their plans for building public halls. In July 1851, it presented a report, with consultees including Joseph Paxton, the designer of The Crystal Palace. The report's recommendation identified a site for the hall on what was then Park Lane (since redeveloped into the Headrow) which contained Park House and its gardens. This site was on the edge of the town centre of the time, but the project required a large parcel of land that was unavailable in the congested central streets. It was purchased from a wealthy merchant named John Blayds for the sum of £9,500 ().