Established community group Friends of Hillsborough Park have announced they are disbanding after 20 years of work, as they feel they are no longer being listened to by Sheffield City Council.
After an EGM held last Wednesday, the group took to Facebook to announce their closure, saying “the decision was not taken lightly”.
They explained how “in respect of recent events, it was felt that the Friends of Hillsborough Park group had regrettably little influence in what is done to the park and thus the time had come for the group to change”.
Since 2003, the volunteer group have been giving up their own time and meeting weekly with approximately 15-18 regular volunteers who undertook a variety of work, from weeding and planting, to working in the greenhouses to even maintaining the benches and litter picking.
Some of their most notable work involved the Walled Garden, which progressed from organising gardening sessions to independently looking after the area with a weekly team.
This year, they were awarded a Green Flag community Award and a Gold Award from Yorkshire in Bloom as a result of their stunning flower beds in the garden.
However, for the past 18 months, Friends of Hillsborough Park have become increasingly frustrated, feeling ignored by the council.
They have been campaigning against a Tennis Hub which will be built on the Multi Use Games Area, therefore reducing the amount of free-to-play space in the park.
Despite their concerns and over 2000 people signing a petition against the proposal, the council went ahead with their plan.
Furthermore, the group’s opinion that after 2023, Tramlines, Sheffield’s annual indie music festival, should no longer be held in Hillsborough Park, was disregarded by the council.
Andy Chaplin, a key member of the group, said: “The council currently have made decisions about Tramlines and the Tennis Hub that we think are not in the best interests of the park. Their concerns seem to be more about maintaining event and commercial income – we think a park should be a public green space.
“We cannot affect their decisions and therefore think it is inappropriate to have a Friends Group that should, but can’t, work with the council.”
Christine Welburn, the current chair of Friends of Hillsborough Park, added: “All three key committee members have resigned as they feel the group no longer has a function if the council are not able to listen to them.
“The current committee are hopeful that a new group, possibly called The Walled Gardeners, will continue the work in the Walled Garden to maintain it at the level it is at the moment.”
When asked about the group’s closure, Cllr Richard Williams, Chair of Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “We are sorry to hear that the Friends of Hillsborough Park are dissolving their group.
“First and foremost, I want to thank them for the incredible work they have done for many years. Their work has been valuable and resulted in significant changes in the park, including the investment into the Coach House, improvements to the playground, installation of the all wheels track and more.
“We look forward to working with some of the volunteers involved in the group in the future, particularly with the Walled Garden, which is a beautiful and special place.”
Friends of Hillsborough Park will be holding one final open day on Saturday 2nd December, with wreath-making and a children’s Christmas Trail
There will be opportunity to express your interest in joining the new group, dedicated to looking after the Walled Garden.
For more information, and the latest updates about the potential new group, go to their website or Facebook Page.