Council to consider plan to bring boating back to park after 25-year gap

PEOPLE COULD enjoy boating in a city park for the first time in a quarter of a century.

Sheffield City Council is being asked to consider a proposal to bring back boating and rowing to Crookes Valley Park.

Currently, the University of Sheffield’s boating club has to travel to Damflask Reservoir in Loxley Valley, on the outskirts of the city, for training and racing.

If the proposals are given the go-ahead, members would use Crookes Valley Park just for training and boating would be open to members of the public. The proposed scheme will be discussed at a meeting on Monday.

Simon Ogden, of the Friends of Crookes Valley Park, said: “We will discuss whether it would be a good idea and how it would work.

“We want more and more people to use the park. It’s a great place and has the potential to be even better.”

The friends group will also discuss the possibility of introducing wildflowers to the park.

Mr Ogden added: “Manor and Park Square roundabout have wildflowers, so we thought why not here? Crookes Valley is a nice place to start and if we had wildflowers on the slopes it would look really pretty from a distance.”

Crookes Valley Park covers 11.9 acres and was laid out in the early 20th century, following the construction of Crookes Valley Road.

The lake was once The Old Great Dam, part of a string of reservoirs that were the first to supply Sheffield with water.

It was thought the dam, holding 21 million gallons, would hold enough water for the city’s future needs, but it was soon found to be too small.