Sheffield park PlayZone plan scrapped following rethink
Plans for new sports facilities in a Sheffield park are facing a major setback which has prompted a complete rethink.
Ecclesfield Park had been picked for a PlayZone, a project created by the Football Foundation to invest in playing facilities for football and other sports. Sheffield City Council approached the foundation in 2022 and was invited to apply for funding.
Kate Clark, service manager for physical activity, sport and health, told a meeting of Sheffield City Council’s communities, parks and leisure policy committee (February 2) that officers are now recommending to withdraw from the project.
She said that work took place on the cost and design of a PlayZone but there were “quite considerable” cost increases from the initial plans because of issues such as ground conditions and design changes.
This took the cost up from £327,000 to £378,000.
She also told councillors: “A lot of the things that came out of the community consultation we weren’t able to deliver.”
Unsustainable
Local people wanted wi-fi access and mobile phone charging points and they weren’t keen to pay for the use of facilities, preferring to see improvements to the existing multi-use games area. This meant the project wasn’t sustainable.
The Football Foundation went ahead with a planning application in February 2025 before revised costs were received and without council officers’ knowledge, said a report to the committee.
Ms Clark said that around £11,000 has been spent on development and design costs and the Football Foundation spent money on survey work.
This leaves £70,000 of match funding unspent, which will now be used in other ways to improve park facilities. This could include building a cafe, which was a popular public choice.
The committee report said: “The cafe could be delivered as a standalone facility or as part of a larger multi-functional activity hub, incorporating a café, public toilets, activity space, and the transformation of the redundant tennis court (previously allocated for the PlayZone).”
Disappointing
Ms Clark said: “It is disappointing but we feel it is the right conclusion. The Football Foundation have agreed not to claw back any further funding.”
She said the two organisations are still working together across the city.
Director of parks, leisure and libraries Lisa Firth said that the council and Football Foundation had “done a lot of soul searching” on how they could get the project to work.
She said the Ecclesfield plan had been a ‘test and learn’ project for PlayZones in city parks.
West Ecclesfield ward Coun Alan Hooper said he supports the decision and agrees it wasn’t financially viable but wanted to know that lessons would be learnt after council officers had spent three years working on the project.
“Ecclesfield Park has been kicked in the teeth for a number of years with various projects ever since the old pavilion and cafe was knocked down,” he said.
“In 15 years it’s never progressed and it must be one of the poorest provision, it’s got virtually nothing. It’s got a great friends group and bowling club.”
Coun Hooper said that the new project must come together quickly, “not in five years, but now”.
Coun Marieanne Elliot said: “It is quite brave to say there was testing and there was planning and it just wasn’t right.”