Nottingham City Council is being asked to approve £3.06 million of developer funding for improvements to parks, playgrounds and other public open spaces across all 20 city wards.
The proposed Parks for People programme includes playground refurbishments at Highfields Park, Forest Recreation Ground and several neighbourhood sites, alongside woodland improvements, nature trails, accessibility work and changes to other greenspaces.
The council’s Executive Board is due to consider the proposals on 20 October. The funding allocation and proposed work have not yet been approved through this decision.
Under the plans, £2,765,023 would be allocated directly to wards, with a further £294,977 set aside for staff time and contingency. Delivery would be phased over three years to allow for surveys, design, procurement and construction.
The money would come from Section 106 contributions, which are payments secured from developers through legal planning agreements to address the additional demands that development places on infrastructure and services.
These contributions carry restrictions on how they can be used. Some must be spent at particular sites or locations, while others can fund the provision or improvement of open space more widely across Nottingham.
The funding breakdown identifies £606,337 with specific site or location conditions and £2,453,663 available for broader open-space improvements within the city. The council’s capital finance team says the funding is available, has not already been allocated and is within the relevant agreements’ commitment deadlines.
Ward allocations have been developed using population and deprivation data, site priorities and meetings with ward councillors. The proposed schedules list schemes in their intended delivery order.
However, the report makes clear that these are candidate projects rather than guarantees that every listed improvement will proceed. If earlier schemes become more expensive, later work could be reduced, deferred or removed to keep spending within the available funding.
The appendix also allows funding to be redirected to other eligible sites within a ward if circumstances change or urgent needs arise, subject to approval by the executive member.
Lenton and Wollaton East has the largest proposed allocation, at £435,602. Its programme includes a playground refurbishment at Highfields, followed by a refurbishment at Lenton Abbey Park and health and safety work at Sutton Passey. The Highfields proposal is linked to a £328,101.94 contribution associated with development at 3 Triumph Road.
St Ann’s would receive £207,049 for a playground refurbishment at King Edward Park, playground and open-space improvements at Robin Hood Chase, and health and safety work at St Mary’s. A £91,548.53 contribution associated with development at 149–169 Lower Parliament Street is identified against King Edward Park.
Bulwell would receive £199,662 for playground refurbishments at Hempshill Lane and Commercial Road, and open-space improvements at Bulwell Hall Park and Springfields Corner/Moor Bridge. The Bulwell Hall Park proposal includes a £71,662.14 contribution associated with the Bestwood Centre development.
The remaining proposed allocations cover neighbourhood playgrounds, parks and smaller public spaces throughout the city. Each figure is the overall ward allocation, rather than a separate cost for every site listed.
Aspley would receive £135,323 for playground refurbishments at Whitwell Road and Woodfield Park, and redevelopment of the community centre into play space at Phoenix play zone.
Basford would receive £108,400 for health and safety work at the Brooklyn Park and Heathfield Park playgrounds, followed by a playground refurbishment and surrounding park improvements at Stockhill Park.
Berridge would receive £141,051 for a playground refurbishment and surrounding park improvements at Chard Street, followed by playground refurbishments at Gawthorn Street, Shipstone Street and Poplar Avenue.
Bestwood would receive £119,600 to redevelop the Ranskill Gardens garage site as public open space, refurbish the Mosswood Crescent playground and improve open space at Chediston Vale.
Bilborough would receive £125,300 for a playground refurbishment and surrounding park improvements at Rosedale Drive, followed by open-space improvements at Birchover Park and Firbeck Park.
Bulwell Forest would receive £95,900 for health and safety work at the Bulwell Forest Park playground and improvements to its car park facilities, followed by a playground refurbishment at Rise Park.
Castle would receive £80,800 for open-space improvements at Bellargate Rest Garden, Barker Gate Rest Garden, the Green Heart, Collin Street and Sussex Street. The main report identifies wildflower meadow creation at Bellar Gate Rest Garden among the programme’s proposed habitat improvements.
Clifton East would receive £137,955 for improvements to Flower Park’s open space and amphitheatre, open-space improvements at Breckswood play area, improvements to the open space and playground at Tintagel Green, and open-space work at Sunninghill, Colesbourne and Scaffel Park.
Clifton West would receive £84,800 for playground health and safety work at Angell Green, playground health and safety and accessibility work at Barton Green, woodland improvements and a nature trail at Silverdale, and playground improvements at Locksley Park.
Dales would receive £132,513 for a playground refurbishment at Colwick Woods and playground improvements at Green’s Mill.
Hyson Green and Arboretum would receive £156,879 for a playground refurbishment at Forest Recreation Ground, followed by open-space improvements at Bridlington Street, Kirkstead Street and the Arboretum.
Leen Valley would receive £82,700 for playground refurbishments at Melbourne Park and KGV, open-space improvements at Beechdale Mews and playground health and safety work at Western Boulevard.
Meadows would receive £97,800 for a playground refurbishment at Mundella Road and playground health and safety work at Victoria Embankment.
Mapperley would receive £123,889 for open-space improvements at Coppice Recreation Ground, Pearmain Drive and City Heights.
Radford would receive £106,700 for playground refurbishments at Independence Street and John Carroll, followed by open-space improvements at Ronald Street.
Sherwood would receive £112,600 for playground refurbishments at Hood Street and Pirate Park, playground health and safety work at Peggy’s Park, and open-space improvements at Carrington Community Garden.
Wollaton West would receive £80,500 for open-space improvements at Radford Bridge Road and a playground refurbishment at Rushford Drive.
The report says leaving the funding unallocated would delay improvements and could increase the risk of time-limited contributions becoming repayable if developers claimed them back. An approach based only on the location of development was also rejected because officers considered it less effective at targeting areas of greatest need across the city.
If approved, the council would begin the procurement work needed to deliver the programme. Operational authority to procure and award contracts would be delegated to the corporate director responsible for communities, environment and resident services, in consultation with the executive member for environment and sustainability.
Individual schemes would still need to comply with the relevant Section 106 agreements and capital spending rules as their designs and costs are developed. Ward councillors would remain involved, and changes to the scope, cost or timing of work would be communicated through programme updates.
