‘Even more to come’ for Ashfield’s Parks and Open Spaces

Over £4.3million has been invested in Ashfield public open spaces and pitches over the past five years.

Since 2016, Ashfield District Council has carried out dozens of ambitious projects across 30 different sites in the District.

Cabinet Member for Parks, Town Centres and Neighbourhood Services, Cllr Samantha Deakin is proud of the work the Council has completed but insists the work isn’t over yet.

She said:

“Providing high quality open spaces for our communities is a key priority for this Council, hence why we have invested so much time and money into getting it right for the people of Ashfield.

“The list is endless, but highlights include the skate parks and fitness areas across our rural areas, flood defence and art projects in Hucknall, heritage and recreation improvements in Sutton and play area improvements across Kirkby.

“We’re not stopping here though as we have more exciting projects on the horizon. Each time we start planning a project for our parks and green spaces, our aim is to provide an improved service and good value for money for our residents.”

Six of the Council’s parks have retained their Green Flag status year on year. These are Sutton Lawn, Kingsway Park, Selston Country Park, Titchfield Park, Brierley Park and Portland Park. Work is ongoing to achieve a green flag for a seventh site for 2022.

Since the pandemic, the Council’s rolling events programme has restarted with free cinema events held in green spaces for families this month. Feel Good Families have been providing events across the calendar, particularly during school holidays, including themed trails and learn to cycle sessions.

The Council is working with the Football Foundation to identify local football facility improvements including Kingsway Park and Sutton Lawn. This is supported by the success in securing funding from the Towns Fund which will see approximately £4million invested in sports facilities.

Cllr Jason Zadrozny, Leader of Ashfield District Council, said:

“This Council cares about our communities and projects like these prove just that.

“On top of all our park and play area investments, we’ve improved over 5km of footpaths and cycles routes, extended Sutton Cemetery by 800 burial plots and increased our allotment occupancy to a massive 97%.  

“We are proud of what has been achieved already but our next steps are even more exciting as we lay out our plans for over £70million of investment from the Towns Fund and Future High Streets Fund.”