A flagship Hull City Council scheme will see pocket parks across the city created and invested in.
Four areas in Hull will see new investment from this autumn after the first phase of the council’s Pocket Park programme has been revealed.
These are:
- Land off St Thomas More Road in Pickering
- Land between Holmethorpe, Kinthorpe and Harrison Park in Orchard Park
- Land adjacent to 47 Darwood Close in West Carr
- Land on the junction of Sherburn Street and New Bridge Road in Drypool
These sites will be the first areas to see the benefit of the new project, with other sites able to bid into future delivery years of the programme.
The council worked with local communities to nominate areas for the scheme across the city.
At February’s annual budget meeting, the council made available £100,000 per annum as part of its Parks and Open Spaces programme 2022-2026 to deliver new pocket parks which create new or renovate existing open spaces which have fallen into disrepair or are unused.
This is part of the council’s plan to make Hull a greener, cleaner and safer place to live.
Pocket parks are small, green open spaces, no larger than 0.4 hectares, where the public can relax, exercise, socialise and play.
The community can have its say on what a pocket park may look like in their area, including planting trees, installing benches, making community ‘grow your own’ gardens or simply creating a safer space.
Cllr Rob Pritchard, Hull City Council’s portfolio holder for culture and leisure, said: “We’re determined to make Hull a greener, cleaner and safer place to live and this Pocket Park project is another scheme of investment that will do just that.
“Hull has so many parks and open spaces which are vital to our city and this council wants to invest in them and improve them for our local communities.
“Ensuring that communities are proud of the areas in which they live is at the heart of this project and I look forward to working with local people to deliver this new and exciting project.”
The pilot scheme is the first phase of the Parks and Open Spaces programme and more sites will be earmarked throughout the duration of the project until 2026.
Submissions for these potential pilot scheme pocket parks, which will all be on council-owned land, have already been made.
