Sheffield City Council will be returning part of the Norton site back to public use and access. They are currently holding a consultation on what should happen with that space.
For Food Works, this could be a unique opportunity to also make the Norton Nursery itself publicly accessible again. Because the new edge of the public park will be tantalisingly close to the front door of our community nursery.
We would love to see this opportunity be used for a small footprint structure that would connect the park to the Nursery. Wouldn’t it be fabulous after 30 year to once again see the nurseries open to the public? It would, effectively, double the space this proposal adds to the public park. Furthermore, a small building could add more comfortable and safe space to the nursery, making it possible to host schools, run workshops and run many other activities and events that can’t safely be run inside an old glasshouse.
There are many ways to do that, and we think that should be developed further in line with the other uses of the site. The Friends of Graves Park have long wanted to use the space to extend the Chantreyland Meadow with an arboretum, which could be wonderful. Ultimately though, we think it is for the Sheffield public to decide what they would like to see in their park.
We hope it will be something that can work with opening up Norton Nurseries for everyone!
A few handy links:
- Make sure you get your voice heard and fill out the consultation today!
- Here’s our proposal in a bit more detail.
- There is also a lovely article in the Star with some beautiful pictures.
