Minutes of the Open Meeting - February 2025

 
Open Meeting held at 7pm on 11th February 2025 at St Catherine’s School, Firshill Crescent, Sheffield.
 
Attendees: 31, including Jon Dallow, Alan Seasman and Ryan Atkin (all Sheffield  City Council)
 
1. Louise Bull, Chair of the Friends of Parkwood Springs, welcomed everyone to the meeting.
 
2. Peter Bull, Treasurer, reported (with photos) on the many and wide-ranging Friends Group activities since the last Open Meeting in May.Monthly Conservation Sessions

• Monthly Forest Garden Sessions
• Representation at events such as the Abbeyfield Park Festival in July
• Visit from Move More and Sport England
• Sports events such as the Steel City Trail 10 run in June
• and on the same day Penny Philcox's tree walk
• In July Penny's second wildflower walk of the year
• Tree of the Month posters and web pages every month
• Val Clinging from Sorby Natural History Society small mammal survey in August
• Move More cycling event for children linked with the Tour of Britain in September
• History walk and Deer Park talk as part of Heritage Open Days
• Mowing of the wildflower meadow in October
• Lantern making
• Lantern Festival with contributions from the Sheffield Samba Band the Junior Samba Band and Storm in a Tea Cup Circus
• Construction of the kestrel lantern financed by the Sheffield Town Trust
• Fungi walk led by Ziggy Senkans of Sorby NHS
• Hedge planting by Watercliffe Meadow Primary School and Community Forestry
• Tree planting by Community Forestry helped by the Ahmadi Muslim Community
• Hedge planting by Kids Plant Trees
• Participation in the Sheffield Heritage Fair
  

 
 
What is happening with the £19.4 million government grant

3. Alan Seasman, Sheffield City Council, reminded people of the background to the project. The project will include a new access road to the old Ski Village site and improved cycle and pedestrian access, clearing the the old Ski Village site and dealing with issues such as Japanese knot weed, and other improvements.
 
4. The original Levelling Up Fund (LUF) bid in 2022 was rejected, but in November 2023 the Council was told by the Government that the bid was successful. Negotiations have had to take place – delayed by the change of Government and the need to sort out governance arrangements for the Project. Funding of £19.4 million has now been agreed, but the Council still does not have the money in the bank.
 
5. A number of surveys have already been carried out, including a transport assessment, utility connections, topography, drainage, technical issues, unexploded ordnances (for any unexploded bombs from World War 2), trees, ecology and a preliminary archaeological survey).
 
6. A Parkwood Area Board has been set up to manage the LUF Project and overall developments of the whole Parkwood Springs site. This Board is chaired by Gill Furness MP and Councillor Ben Miskell, with appropriate Council officers and stakeholders, including community groups such as the Friends of Parkwood Springs, the Friends of Wardsend Cemetery, SOAR and KINCA. Sub-groups will cover particular aspects.
 
7. The Council has been in discussion with Skyline about the redevelopment of the Ski Village site for over 5 years. Skyline is a New Zealand company which has built recreational facilities in many parts of the world, focussing on ‘luges’. They are still interested in redeveloping the old Ski Village site, but to do that they needed the site to be cleared and access improved. The LUF project addresses this, so Skyline is now preparing a Masterplan, working towards a Memorandum of Understanding with the Council. Skyline have made a number of visits to Sheffield, and they will present their proposals to the Parkwood Area Board at the end of March.
 
8. Planning permission will be needed for the development, and there will be formal processes for people to comment. It is clear that a Skyline site would not be a fenced off facility – there will be things people will pay for, but it will also be possible for people just to wander across the site. The access road will be only the start of improvements.
 
9. The Area Board is planning a newsletter to give the project more publicity, and there will be future meetings for public engagement. But there will also be formal consultations.
 
10. Questions and comments
a) It can be confusing whether we are talking about the old Ski Village site, or the whole of Parkwood Springs. We need to be clear that the Friends Group is concerned with the whole site.
Response: Alan confirmed that the Parkwood Area Board covers the whole site, not just the old Ski Village.
b) Is there a contingency plan if Skyline were to drop out?
Response: If that were to happen, the Council would have to go out to the market again and see what the interest was.
c) There was concern about the boundary of the development site being discussed with Skyline.
d) Local people had heard about preliminary agreement for access to the old Ski Village site through the Industrial Estate.
Response: Alan was not in a position to comment on that.
e) Is there information about who might be Skyline’s partners on the site?
Response: Skyline is talking to a number of potential partners, but no further information is available.
f) Can regular users be involved on the Area Board?
Response: A number of community groups are represented on the Board. .
g) Can we have access to the surveys that have been carried out?
Response: They will all be reflected in the eventual planning application for the old Ski Village site, and will be accessible through that. The ecological survey of the whole site will be widely available outside that process.
 
Other developments

11. Jon Dallow is now Woodlands and Countryside Manager at Sheffield City Council. He noted that the Parkwood Area Board is an important development, helping to get things done.
 
12. There are now two new Rangers working on Parkwood Springs - Katy Knight, mainly focussing on the southern end of the site, and Ryan Atkin, present at the meeting and largely focussing on the northern end including Wardsend Cemetery. Together this means that there will be a ‘full-time equivalent’ Ranger just for Parkwood Springs for two years. This will really make a difference.
 
13. Cycling4All is starting a base on Parkwood Springs, running adapted bike sessions 2 days a week. This will build on the sessions that they have been running at Hillsborough Park for some while.
 
Similarly Access Sport is starting to work with a number of local schools, including Watercliffe Meadow, St Catherine’s and Parkwood Academy, using the bike trails. These two developments should build up the use of the trails.
 
14. There is now the money to start a parkrun on Parkwood Springs, but agreement is still needed from the national parkrun organisation. It’s not possible to say yet when the parkrun will start. Other running groups are also interested in using the space.
 
15. There have been two issues with the Kiosk. Firstly, the electricity supply is not adequate. This will be dealt with in the next few weeks. Secondly, shelter is needed in bad weather, and that is being looked into. But Bekir, the cafe operator, is still involved, and posters will go up when the kiosk is re-opened. (We were all pleased to see Bekir at the meeting!)
 
16. The flooded path behind the houses on Cooks Wood Road has been investigated, and attempts made to clear out the culvert. (The culvert runs under the houses, across Cooks Wood Road and down through Burngreave. Increased rainfall due to climate change has changed the hydrology and made the situation worse.) The best solution at the moment seems to be to try to hold back the flow of water, through felling trees and creating ‘leaky dams’. The path is important and is on the planned parkrun route.
 
17. The problems with off-road motor-bikes are recognised, including the use of quad bikes for illegal purposes. The Council are looking to put in bigger concrete bollards in particular places, and are working with the Police off-road teams. It is important also to raise the problem with the Local Area Committee (LAC). The Council can also try to provide more positive activities. It is important for members of the public to continue to report bikes through 101, either by phone or online.
 
18. The Valencia site (the closed Landfill) is in the restoration phase. Lots of people are using it, but there has not been any progress on making the new paths. The Council’s Planning Department is now engaged, as it is a matter of enforcing planning conditions.
 
19. Questions and comments
a) It is important to see some progress on the restoration of the Valencia site. Winter is obviously a bad time for work such as this, but there was no progress last summer either. Valencia do not seem to be engaged.
Response: Gill Furniss MP, as Chair of the Parkwood Area Board, is writing to Valencia.
b) All the improvements that are taking place are great for the community. Is it possible to monitor the increased use made by people of the site?
Response: It’s important to do this, and monitoring is taking place.
c) Is there a time-scale for providing a shelter at the kiosk? Couldn’t local people help? There needs to be consideration given to not attracting anti-social behaviour.
Response: there is red-tape to be gone through, and it needs to be done well, but the Council recognises that it’s important.
d) Is there one website for all the activities that are happening on Parkwood Springs?
Response: The Area Board’s Newsletter will help with this, but a website would be a good idea.
e) If you report off-road motor-bikes to the Police, they want an address. Can we get one?
Response: the Council had to get an address and postcode for the kiosk. This will be shared with people. Also, the Police can accept ‘what3words’ locations.
f) The new bike-track area at the north of the site is getting litter-strewn. Can anything be done?
Response: the rangers will look at it, and Riverlution are also going to be working on the site regularly.
g) The new paths are great, but some of the old paths are getting over-grown.
Response: The Rangers can look at cutting back the vegetation on some of them. Part of the thinking for the site is to have a range of types of paths, from very easy to ‘explorer’.
 
20. Louise thanked Alan and Jon for coming and speaking, and everyone for their attendance. Louise and Peter were thanked for their inputs. The meeting closed at 8.30pm.