Garforth Parks
We only have one park in Garforth – Barley Hill Park. There is no other land to build a new park on and because all nearby fields are prime building land to their owners, (which GNPF strongly opposes), there is little opportunity to easily acquire affordable land. What we do have is a number of playing fields. They act as parks in the summer but for the rest of the year they are too muddy to use for anybody but the local sports teams (if the land space is big enough to support a sports pitch).
But what if we built a footpath around the outer edges of each playing field? Wide enough to accommodate walkers and cyclists at the same time, with benches for the old and the very young to stop and rest. Suddenly we have half a dozen year-round accessible parks in our town, scattered across the community to make them accessible to more residents. Every part of Garforth has its own little park and the playing fields within them remain available to our local sports men and women.
Glebelands Park
Ash Lane Park
Brierlands Park
Long Meadows Park
Firthfields Park
Goosefields Park
Do we need these parks?
When preparing the Garforth Plan residents were consulted on 4 separate occasions about what they wanted in Garforth. At the Initial Consultation in 2013 the need for more parks and play areas and the need for green space improvements was widely identified. A GNPF survey in 2015, delivered to every household, also identified the need for more parks, allotments and improved facilities. A second GNPF Survey in 2018, again delivered to every household, revealed that 79 percent of residents use our green spaces and expressed concern about the lack of usable greenspace in the various housing estates and the lack of a ‘proper’ park. And a Policy Intentions Survey in 2019 again showed concerns about the lack of a ‘proper’ park, the loss of greenfield land and the overall quality of our green spaces.
Can we do this?
We need look no further than what our neighbours in Kippax are doing. Development at Kippax Common involves community-led enhancements to public amenities, including a new inclusive playground and improved accessibility footpaths. A new children's playground officially opened in June 2024, developed by Kippax Parish Council in consultation with local schools, it features fully inclusive equipment and a wildflower meadow to boost biodiversity.
A major project to install a tarmac and resin-bonded gravel path around the common was approved in 2026 to ensure year-round accessibility for wheelchairs, pushchairs, and mobility scooters.
Kippax Common is designated as a protected playing field in the Kippax Neighbourhood Plan (2018–2033), serving as a vital "green lung". Garforth also has a neighbourhood plan. It also designates our playing fields as protected. Reflecting the views of residents, it also strongly supports improvements to our greenspaces and the creation of local parks.
Where does the money come from?
Kippax has a Parish Council and a neighbourhood plan. It has also had recent housing developments which generate Community Infrastructure Levy monies (CIL). A Parish Council with a plan is entitled to 25 percent of the CIL money for local projects. The city council receives the other 75 percent, of which at least some should also find its way back to infrastructure improvements in the Kippax area.
Kippax Parish Council can also charge a small precept, added on to council tax, to fund local projects such as the development of Kippax Common for the residents of Kippax. It possibly also has access to green grants only available to elected bodies.
In the absence of any other actions or suggestions, is this the way ahead for Garforth? Comment at the bottom of the page.
An excellent idea