Pound’s Park, Sheffield: Photos show progress in building new Yorkshire city centre park open for Easter weekend

The project is backed by Sheffield City Council and has already been opened early on Monday, April 3, 2023, so that children and families can enjoy the park over the Easter weekend and school holidays. Pound’s Park is named after the first chief fire officer, superintendent John Charles Pound and it is located on the former fire station site between Rockingham Street, Wellington Street and Carver Street in Sheffield.

It will offer a multitude of outdoor activities including spaces for play, relaxation and socialising and construction began on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. The council has appointed local firm Henry Boot Construction to undertake the work.

Families, city centre workers and residents who have visited the site have reacted positively to the project so far and the public consultation before planning was also very positive, the council said.

The park will supply an attractive, safe and fully accessible location to help attract more families into the city centre and encourage them to spend more time there. It will feature two large pyramid towers, with the tallest standing at 36ft, stainless steel slides, climbing structures, playhouses, a seesaw, wheelchair-accessible playing equipment, a climbing boulder and much more.

The boulder, designed and created by specialist firm Rockworks, is reminiscent of a Peak District’s rockface; it weighs six tonnes, stands at 9ft 8in tall and is eight metres wide. A long water channel with multiple dams will also flow between the Pyramid Towers and across the site.

Co-chair transport, regeneration and climate policy committee at Sheffield City Council, Councillor Mazher Iqbal, said: “I’m delighted to see the climbing boulder successfully installed in Pound’s Park. Heart of the City is taking the creation of new public spaces to a whole new level.

“We are looking to build on our reputation as The Outdoor City, promote physical and mental wellbeing, and celebrate what makes us special as a place. The climbing boulder certainly does this - celebrating Sheffield’s climbing prestige and close connection to the stunning Peak District countryside.”

Even though all landscaping features of the park are now complete and the public are now able to start enjoying the park, some utilities and facilities, including the power and water connectivity that will allow for the new accessible public toilets to open and for the new water play features to be turned on, are due to be completed later in the month.

The £480 million project, led by the council and their Strategic Development Partner Queensberry, is flanked by a number of evolving Heart of the City construction sites, so its final integration into the surrounding streets is still to be completed later this year.

Managing director at Henry Boot Construction, Tony Shaw, said: “We were excited to have the chance to be involved in such an interesting installation. It’s not every day that the team gets to work with a giant boulder. Pound’s Park will be a brilliant new public space for Sheffield and, as a local business, it’s a privilege to be involved in the project.”

The playground will provide a fully inclusive play, with a sand-play platform for wheelchair users, accessible points for children to engage with the water pumps, and various touch and sound sensory items. It is sympathetically designed to complement the city centre’s other key outdoor spaces as the playground is handcrafted mostly using Mountain Larch; a durable wood that can withstand decades of harsh weather conditions.

Owner and managing director of Timberplay, Paul Collings, said: “Everyone at Timberplay is extremely proud to be involved in such a landmark project for Sheffield City Centre and one that is very important to us all, as a local company. It is amazing to see Sheffield City Council invest in creating such an incredible green space that uses high-quality, sustainable and natural materials throughout.

“Working alongside the council and Henry Boot Construction has been a pleasure from design through to the current installation. We would like to commend Sheffield City Council for their innovative thinking on reimagining our city centre in these rapidly changing times, with shopping habits and living choices in such a state of flux. We cannot wait to see the park open and see children having fun in what we believe will be a world-class facility for the people of Sheffield.”