Henry Boot Construction has completed the main phase of work on Sheffield City Centre’s brand-new public space, Pound’s Park.
The landmark park was handed over to Sheffield City Council and will officially open on 3 April – just in time for the public to start enjoying the space over the Easter weekend and school holidays.
Named after Sheffield’s first chief fire officer, Superintendent John Charles Pound, the park is located on the former fire station site between Rockingham Street, Wellington Street and Carver Street, and will offer a multitude of experiences, including spaces for play, relaxation and socialising.
The 6,000 sq m space has been developed with families in mind and boasts a significant new children’s playground at its heart.
The playground includes two large pyramid towers – the tallest standing at 11 metres, with stainless steel slides, climbing structures, playhouses, a seesaw, wheelchair-accessible play equipment and more.
Another feature, which involved careful installation from the Henry Boot team, is a unique three-by-eight-metre climbing boulder, reminiscent of a Peak District rockface. The boulder is designed to include multiple natural-looking hand and foot holds and be suitable for would-be climbers of all abilities.
Henry Boot will be back on site later this month to facilitate some final utility work that will enable the water play features, lighting and accessible WCs to open to the public.
Tony Shaw, managing director said: “We are extremely proud to announce the completion of Pound's Park and hand it back to Sheffield Council. It’s been a real team effort to get it all ready in time for the public to enjoy this Easter.
“Sheffield is renowned as one of the country’s greenest cities and Pound’s Park is making it even greener and continuing to build on the exciting Outdoor City ethos.
“At Henry Boot, we understand that the need for major public spaces in our urban environment continues to grow. With more people living and working in city centres today, these accessible and attractive spaces are crucial to creating a modern, liveable city centre – one that supports people’s physical and mental wellbeing. It helps reduce vehicle congestion and the resulting carbon emissions.”
Henry Boot’s management of Pound’s Park has been exemplary, with the construction site recently receiving marks of 45/45 following an inspection from the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS).
The Sheffield-based company are also working on two other major developments in Heart of the City – either side of the park.
To the west of the park is Kangaroo Works – a major residential development delivering 364 new apartments. To the east is Elshaw House – the city’s first zero carbon-ready office building, and Cambridge Street Collective – a contemporary hospitality space featuring a food hall and rooftop restaurant.
“Due to the park's location between our Kangaroo Works and Elshaw House sites, it made perfect sense for our team to also deliver the adjoining public realm”, continued Tony.
"Our team's extensive knowledge of the project ensured the Pound’s Park project ran extremely efficiently. The continuity of the project team enabled us to better manage workflow, supplies, budget and timelines. These benefits are understandably hugely appealing to local authority clients.
“It also enabled us to support local supply chain and jobs. We partnered with many great businesses from the region, including Timberplay, who designed and installed the play area.”
