March 2024: Petition Update!
Update! The Friends of Graves Park met with the deputy leader of Sheffield City Council, Councillor Fran Belbin, on 18th March 2024, where we once again took a tour of the Norton Nurseries section of Graves Park that the Friends want to restore to parkland. As we walked over the virtually empty site, it was somewhat reassuring to hear Fran concur with our assertion that this site is not being used and should be restored back to parkland. The Friends stressed, yet again, that we would do this ourselves and would pay for the work needed, so that the cost will not be an obstacle to the council agreeing.
However, this is just the latest in a list of many meetings on this site, with many discussions over the years and councillors agreeing, only for further delays and procrastination.
When we met the then leader of the council, Councillor Terry Fox, back in March 2022, we were told that we would have to wait for a review of all the depots in Sheffield, which could take up to 5 years, before there would be a decision on the Norton Nurseries site. It is now clear, however, that there is no review of the depots in Sheffield, nor has there been one started, so this was, well, at best misleading and at worst, untruthful.
When the Friends started this petition, back in November 2021, we were told that the site had to be used as a depot for Graves Park and “other local areas”, as the council had no alternative. Subsequent Freedom of Information requests revealed these “other local areas” included 20 other parks and 17 open spaces across the south and west of Sheffield. We have also since discovered, from the documents posted online by the council for the Charity Subcommittee on 4th March 2024, that the Charity Commission has written to Sheffield City Council about various issues in Graves Park, including their use of the Norton Nurseries section as a depot. The Friends are shocked to read that the council has been attempting to “regularise” the use of the Norton Nurseries site as a depot, apparently since 2016, by disposing of the site to itself and supposedly paying £200,000 in rent into the Graves Park Trust for its use. The Charity Commission has asked the council to explain itself, has asked for clarification and has stated that if the council has been using the site as a depot for other parks, then it should have asked for permission and cannot do this in retrospect!
The good news is that the council appear to say that the site is divided into 4 sections and that it is the fourth section that is the depot, so we should be in a strong position to convert the third section, our extension, back to parkland.
Please spread the word about our petition! Share it on social media, tell your friends to share and let’s see if we can get the council to honour the long standing agreement to restore this section of Graves Park!
November 2021: Start of Our Petition!
The Arboretum Extension in Graves Park
Way back in the late 1990s local people, in their droves, vigorously opposed the council selling this part of Graves Park for a housing estate, when the council and its parks department declared it “no longer in use and surplus to requirements”! After the Charity Commission confirmed that the site is charitable parkland and part of J G Graves’s gift to the people of Sheffield to be kept as parkland forever, the council was given 15 years to restore it back to parkland. Since then, volunteers from Friends of Graves Park have been working to restore this site to parkland.
The first part of this restoration, Chantreyland Meadow, opened in 2006 and the plans for the second section, the Arboretum, were already underway when the council once again declared the site derelict and tried to lease it to St. Luke’s Hospice, to move the hospice there. Once again the citizens of Sheffield opposed this and once again the council’s plans to dispose of the land were thwarted. The Friends continued the restoration of this section of the park and in 2016, the Arboretum officially opened to the public. Since then, the Friends have been requesting the release of the next section, as we have been ready for some time to restore it, but all our requests have fallen on deaf ears.
The Friends have finally received a formal response from the council – and it is not good news.
All written requests to the council regarding this issue received no response, until the latest one, where we wrote to the new executive member for parks, Councillor Alison Teal, who on 15th October 2021 wrote, “Park staff are unable to provide firm plans regarding what is happening with the depot land, therefore it needs to remain available. While I agree the current state of the depot is unattractive, the site is important for the council as there are few places across the city which can accommodate large machinery, etc.”
The council has at least confirmed that it has no intention of restoring this area back to parkland. It is also apparently still treating this as not being part of Graves Park, as it is now referring to it as “depot land”. This is totally unacceptable. The Friends are shocked and disappointed at this response. It is also very disappointing that until now they have not responded to our requests, yet knew what they were doing, as a considerable amount of hard-core has been put down on the site over the past year, presumably for the heavy machinery they are planning to park on the area. It would be interesting to know how much this cost the council taxpayer, or worse, the Graves Park Trust. Local people will also be aware that this site is used by the council to collect rubbish from all over Sheffield and activity involving rubbish collection goes on here at all hours of the day and night.
The Friends volunteers are ready to start the restoration and have offered to fund the work involved. If you agree that this area should be restored to parkland as soon as possible, please support us in our campaign by signing this petition.
Planned from 2008 and started in 2010, phase two of the restoration by the Friends of Graves Park is the Arboretum. This area is fulfilling part of the dream of the Friends of Graves Park, which is to restore the “derelict” Nurseries site by planting trees. Species included in the arboretum are oak, walnut, Monterey pine and the ancient ginkgo biloba.
Graves Park’s Arboretum was officially opened on 15th May 2016. Professor Ian Rotherham cut the ceremonial ribbon at the end of an historic walk through the park. In perfect weather, over 50 budding historians listened during the walk and talk, as Professor Rotherham took us back through time into Graves Park’s history and prehistory. The talk was extremely interesting and enjoyed by all. As a result, FOGP hope to put on similar events in the future. Once again we would like to thank Professor Rotherham for generously conducting the tour.
Most of the plants growing in the arboretum are from donations and propagation by the Friends and the Arboretum is maintained by volunteers. Known locally as the “Secret Garden”, this is becoming a favourite haunt of park visitors. Part two of the Arboretum has already been planned. The Friends are ready to start as soon as the trustee allows.
AGM Report July 2020
Trees
The collection of mountain ash has developed and increased in size due mainly to the very wet autumn and winter period. The previous summer growth matured and produced good quality flowering wood for the 2020 spring which meant masses of blossom.
The same conditions stimulated the crab apples, hawthorn and whitebeam which all had a great abundance of flowers turning into fruit for the autumn.
Shrubs: a similar response occurred here especially the pyracanthas and cotoneasters. The azaleas performed in a similar pattern but the feast of flowers was devastated by a late frost which also damaged the Inula hookeri herbaceous plants, however the phlomis fruiticosa (Jerusalem Sage) survived the effects and has produced masses of flower heads.
Water Holding Bed
This has proved successful certainly as far as the hellebores, astilbes and Japanese anemones are concerned, however the pieris forrestii were all excavated out by animals searching for worms; a larger subject is to be planted this autumn.
Dogwood Beds
Proved very successful with good quality colourful leaves and stems. Part of the new bed was planted with bergenias which proved very colourful in early spring.
Plants Gifted
A walnut and a rowan tree and a memorial gift of six azalea mollis are to be added to the collection this year.
The whole arboretum is growing and expanding its canopy and we are in need of more area now!
A New Project
This began last year as a result of losing a tree from the southern embankment above the serpentine stream, due to high winds, which exposed a mass of debris within the whole site.
Just as it was decided to begin to clear the area, Covid-19 spread its influence and FOGP could no longer work as a team, so, Gavin and James Baxter made a decision to start to clear the accumulation of rubbish and overgrown tree branches and develop the area as a feature; the work goes on!
Nicky Baxter has been keeping the existing herbaceous features pruning, planting and controlling overgrowths of weeds.
Much work has been done whilst lockdown has controlled what we are able to do together as a group, by coming out during evenings as individuals complete with pruning tackle and this keeping topside of unwanted herbage growths, in both the arboretum and the meadow.
Much credit is due to the Baxter family for undertaking this endeavour.
The Arboretum Extension: our next project
Now that Chantreyland Meadow and the Arboretum are well established in Graves Park, the Friends of Graves Park are ready to start the restoration to parkland of the next section of the former Norton Nurseries site.
The Friends of Graves Park are now ready to start the restoration of the next section of the Norton Nurseries site back to parkland. As the third section we have restored, this latest section will be in the form of a woodland garden, to complement Chantreyland Meadow wildlife area and the Arboretum. Both of these areas are very popular with park visitors and are experienced as a haven from the hustle and bustle of life in the city. The Arboretum has been given the nick-name of “The Secret Garden” by visitors. Our vision is to restore the next section of the site, which has long been described as derelict and surplus to requirements and which is currently used as a dumping ground for rubbish.
The Friends are confident that, with support from the public, they can create an extension to the current Arboretum from the current waste land, which will be a valuable asset to the citizens of Sheffield.
Help us by donating to the Just Giving link below, or send your donations to our address (cheques only through the post please), marked Arboretum Extension.
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/GravesParkArboretum?invite=true
October 2020: Chantreyland Meadow Arboretum Extension
Plan to Restore the 3rd Section of the Former Norton Nursery Site to Parkland
