Park Hill in bloom
A RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden marking the centenary of The Campaign to Protect Rural England will find a permanent home at Urban Splash’s Sheffield site.
Designed by Sarah Eberle, ‘On the Edge’ chimes with many of Sheffield’s own priorities, focusing on the importance of the countryside on our doorsteps.
Following the show’s closure on 23 May, the garden will be relocated over the summer and will be open for Sheffield residents to enjoy.
The garden honours Ethel Haythornthwaite, a pioneer of the British countryside movement and one of CPRE’s earliest campaigners, who was instrumental in creating the Sheffield Green Belt.
Lydia and Cuthbert Noble, fifth-generation stone wallers from Holmfirth, West Yorkshire will be part of the artisan team helping to create the garden at the most famous flower show in the world.
A Mother Nature figure will be partly carved from fallen mature trees, with willow-work hair flowing to form the top of a dry-stone wall that snakes through the garden.
A winding pathway will lead to a central, partially enclosed space, with stone seating and rustic water trough.
Planting will be diverse and focused on UK weeds – often dismissed but important to our ecosystems.
Park Hill has been transformed in recent years by a joint venture partnership of Urban Splash and Places for People with the pair working together to create hundreds of new homes, student accommodation, amenities and green spaces.
GMI recently started work on a fourth phase of 125 new homes.
Speaking on behalf of the JV, Sian Stanhope, development manager at Urban Splash, said: “We’re genuinely thrilled to be partnering with CPRE and the wider team on this project. It will provide Park Hill residents with a beautiful new space to enjoy, enhancing and building on the landscaped areas we’ve already created.
“Park Hill carries such rich history and heritage, so it’s especially meaningful to know that Ethel Haythornthwaite had connections to this place and that, combined with the Yorkshire craftsmanship involved in creating the garden, makes this a truly special moment for both the estate and its residents.”
