Many more locals will make the trip to park

But what about the thousands of residents from Shirecliffe, Pitsmoor and Southey Green within a five or ten minute walk away?

Well, once you have a brew and a loo (to go with the view and things to do), many more locals will make the trip too, says city council Woodland Project Officer Jon Dallow, who’s worked with locals and council colleagues for over ten years to turn the former landfill sites into a park for the whole city.

The new country park stretching from the coffee shops of Neepsend in the south to the wildlife and history of Wardsend Cemetery in the north, now has a growing range of paths and trails for everyone, says Jon. The new trail along the top of the hill has been resurfaced to suit most people with pushchairs or wheelchairs, for example - as long as they don’t mind a hill or two.

And the brew and a loo aspect has recently arrived, with public toilets and the new Park Wood Pit Stop cafe by the Cooks Wood Road playing fields. Two new rangers are starting on site to help spread word to local communities about the park on their doorstep.

There are now mountain bike trails for all levels of expertise at the north and south ends of the hillside, along with a pump track for young riders and scooterists by the cafe. Learn to ride cycling sessions are on their way soon, it's hoped, along with cycling sessions for people with disabilities on specialised cycles run by the Cycling 4 All group, who’ve operated for many years at Hillsborough.

Local health and activity programmes BetterPoints and Move More are also involved: people walking, running, wheeling using mobility aids, cycling or using public transport to visit Parkwood Springs get points via the free BetterPoints app to spend as vouchers at a range of local cafes (including now Parkwood Pit Stop) while Move More are working with local communities and schools on activities like school holiday camps on site.

One local school, Watercliffe Meadows Primary, launched the city’s 16th school street recently, where non-authorised cars are banned at school drop off and pick up times at specific roads by the school. (Boynton Road, at Watercliffe Meadows.)

Staff at the school said they hoped the 18 month trial scheme will encourage more parents and pupils to walk, wheel and scoot more, both to school and to explore the local area including Parkwood Springs.

School staff worked with the Modeshift Stars active travel agency to discuss the plan with locals, which they found was popular, not least due to incidents in the past where children were nearly hit by hurried drivers.

Councillor Ben Miskell (chair of the council’s transport committee) said the aim is to set up a school street at every primary school that can have one, while Laurie Butler of Modeshift Stars added the schemes are well supported. Anyone keen for a school street at their school can contact the team at [email protected]

School head Ian Read said the trial will make a difference to safety, not least to the many families who were already walking to school, adding that he expected using the school street to help encourage more local families to make more trips on foot.

Getting out and about more, in places like Parkwood Springs, is very much part of public health, said Greg Fell, city council director of Public Health.

“The first thing about school streets is that they’re good for safety, the second is that because they encourage more walking and moving, they’re good for health, and the third important thing is that they sort of set a bit of a different tone, mission and culture over a period time, of a direction of travel that we all want to take.”