Council makes vital decision over Sheffield Graves Park Norton Nurseries.

After years of contention, parts of the Norton Nurseries site may be returned to parkland.

A council committee has taken a critical decision in the long-running dispute over the future use of the Norton Nurseries site in Graves Park in Sheffield.

Sheffield City Council’s Charity Trustee Sub-Committee voted today (September 8) to accept the option “to reduce the footprint of the Norton Nursery operational base occupied by the council while allowing Parks and Countryside to continue to use the site as a base to service green spaces, including Graves Park under a formal five-year licence agreement with appropriate market-based charges.”

This alternative also involves a public consultation.

At the meeting, Cllr Fran Belbin requested that the officers explain the purpose of the public consultation. She was informed that the inquiry will be about what to do with the site. She was also informed that there were several proposals for future use.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) last week, the facility is presently serving as the parks department’s depot, storing cars, equipment, and trash collected from parks until disposal.

The site is presently being utilised on a short-term licence until November 30 to provide time for a solution to be found. A report to the committee before the meeting stated that three choices were recommended.

The charity has agreed to the council’s use of Norton Nurseries to maintain Graves Park and other municipal green areas under a formal five-year licence arrangement with “appropriate market-based charges”.

The depot’s area would be decreased, while the parks and countryside department may continue to use the facility as a base to service green spaces, including Graves Park, under a five-year licence deal with costs.

Withdraw all council operations from Norton Nurseries, with maintenance services provided to the Graves Park charity from a different operating base.

Option four would have required withdrawing all council activities from the nurseries, with the charity either providing its own maintenance services or contracting them to another provider via contract.

Members were informed during the meeting that after the present, short-term licence expires, another short-term licence is required for the use of the entire existing base for up to 12 months, following which it would revert to five years.

So the area might be reduced (and equipment removed) within 12 months of today’s ruling, and then relocated to the smaller base with the five-year licence.

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