{"id":62913,"date":"2025-03-06T13:22:20","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T13:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/?p=62913"},"modified":"2025-03-06T14:13:14","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T14:13:14","slug":"olive-grove-could-be-used-to-store-large-council-vehicles-after-graves-park-volunteers-urge-relocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/03\/06\/olive-grove-could-be-used-to-store-large-council-vehicles-after-graves-park-volunteers-urge-relocation\/","title":{"rendered":"Graves Park volunteers call for relocation of vehicles to Olive Grove"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Volunteers of Graves Park charity are desperate to restore public parkland as depot site Olive Grove is now a promising location to move large council vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Friends of Graves Park <\/a>charity objected the council’s request last May for a year long temporary licence to use Norton Nurseries, an area of Graves Park, as an operational base for their Parks and Countryside department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Machinery and three tractors currently sit on the land and are used by the council for park maintenance across Sheffield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Ruth Bell, head of Parks and Countryside, said: \u201cIt does feel like we\u2019re making progress on the potential to move the largest vehicles from Norton Nurseries. The most positive conversations that we\u2019ve had have been around Olive Grove.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The only slight stumbling block is that they are currently having some construction works at the place that would be great for those vehicles.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Norton Nurseries layout from Friends Of Graves Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At a council meeting on 3rd March, Kurtis Crossland, Chair of the Communities, Parks and Leisure Policy, said: \u201cWhile we are sat in the town hall, the entirety of Graves Park does belong to the people of Sheffield, not the council, it is a charitable park and the purpose of that is that is that regardless of politics or any short term pressures in local government.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Graves Park stands untouched because it is about how the park is for the next 100 years not necessarily the next 5 years.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Graves Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The council is also looking at sites like Norton Aerodrome for the rest of the park equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caroline Dewar, chair of Friends of Graves Park Charity, says: “The Friends have been asking for many years to restore the next section of the nurseries to parkland, so that it can be reopened to the public.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe bit the Friends of Graves Park want is virtually unused, so they could move the stuff they have on there to elsewhere on the site and let us get started, while they continue to run their depot until such time as they find a replacement site.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Friends feel that Sheffield City Council parks are looking for any excuses to hang on to the land and not release it for restoration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n