February 2024
Our teams are continuing to work exceptionally hard on finishing the redevelopment of Springfield Park.
The Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), Trim Trail and Forest School are all completed and being used regularly which is great to see. The MUGA is free to use for all in the community to enjoy and is floodlit, which means it can be used from 9am till 10pm each day.
Our planting scheme for the park is also well underway; around 150 trees are being planted throughout the park, with over 350 trees of several types and sizes to be planted overall. Our planting strategy will increase biodiversity and the health of local wildlife by creating a mosaic of different habitats within the park.
An agreement was reached with Liverpool City Council for the provision of lighting to the main routes within the park. We know this was an important feature for many of you. The Trust has provided the capital cost for the supply and installation of the lighting. A large part of the lighting scheme has now been connected, with more to follow as we reach completion.
The park is expected to be complete in Spring 2024.
We remain grateful for your patience as we continue to do all we can to complete the park and return it to the community.
Play Park Equipment
An independent safety inspection of the new children’s play area took place with Liverpool City Council on the 16th February. The inspection highlighted some minor changes that were needed before the Council could approve the play area to be open to the public. The Trust has completed these changes, however the Council has requested some additional alterations be made ahead of opening. We are doing all we can to meet these requirements as soon as possible so that children in the local community can enjoy this fantastic new play area and we apologise for the delay. We will keep you informed of a confirmed date for opening as soon as we have received this from the Council.
Following the opening, Liverpool City Council will then close the current playground. The accessible seesaw, kindly donated by Friends of Springfield Park to the community, has already been relocated from the old playground and is now sitting within the new Play Park.
Football Pitches
The grass is growing well on the pitches and we will be installing the drainage as soon as the weather permits. As previously stated, the grass needs a significant period of establishment before being played upon and so we began seeding as soon as we could. We recognise that when we install the drainage, we may need to dig up parts of the pitches where grass has grown, but we have plans to remediate these areas, as necessary. We remain committed to ensuring the pitches (along with the rest of the park) are of the highest quality before handing them over to the community.
Drainage
The planning submission for the Park outlines a strategy to drain the football pitches and playgrounds via a land drainage system into a park swale. There has always been a real challenge with drainage across the Park site and swales were identified and recommended as the most suitable and effective solution to reduce the risk of potential waterlogging and flooding. Swales are a sustainable and environmentally friendly drainage solution as they provide a natural habitat for local wildlife while also reducing water run-off.
This is the approved drainage solution for the park and must be delivered as part of the planning conditions. Alder Hey will remain responsible for its maintenance until such time when it is adopted by United Utilities, who we are still working with to obtain formal approval.
Following feedback from FoSP and the local community, we have reviewed the design of the planned swale and tried to find solutions which would enable us to reduce its size while also maintaining its suitability to provide the drainage required.
We believe we have now identified an effective solution, by removing the section that runs adjacent to the Multi Use Games Area. This would also allow us to retain the three willow trees which we recognise are important to the local community.
However, this change to the original design will need approval from Liverpool Council and Liverpool Planning Authority before we can proceed and we have now submitted revised plans to both for the reduction of the swale and the retention of the willow trees.
Reducing Anti-social Behaviour
We continue to work with Friends of Springfield Park, Liverpool City Council and Merseyside Police in exploring ways to tackle anti-social behaviour. This includes strengthening the fence from the existing Springfield Park to the loop line. Hedges have also been installed to further reinforce the barrier.
Portico
A structural assessment of the Portico highlighted some structural safety issues. We are still exploring potential future use of the Portico but in the meantime, essential repairs will begin later this month to make it structurally safe.
Histopathology building
This building is being retained until at least the beginning of 2026 to help provide some staff facilities needed to support the construction team who are building our new Surgical NICU, next to the Emergency Department.
Community Engagement Meeting December 2023
Below, you can find a link to the minutes and actions from the Community Engagement Meeting that took place on Wednesday 6th December 2023.
Community Engagement Meeting Minutes – 06/12/2023 (181kB pdf)
Springfield Park Newsletters
Our official Springfield Park newsletters can be found below!
Alder Hey Community Newsletter November 2023 (6MB pdf)
Alder Hey Community Newsletter June 2023 (1MB pdf)
Springfield Park Newsletter March 2023 (2MB pdf)
Springfield Park Newsletter December 2022 (3MB pdf)
Springfield Park Newsletter Autumn 2022 (2MB pdf)
We know that Alder Hey’s Hospital and Children’s Health Campus were only made possible thanks to our amazing community. We’re really grateful for that and we’re committed to delivering a Springfield Park that will be enjoyed by all.
Stay up to date with the latest news
Enter your email address below to receive regular Springfield Park updates.
Get Involved!
Help us develop a Park that’s right for you!
Contact [email protected]