Parks and Open Spaces

Our busy Parks Section look after over 200 hectares of public open space, including town and country parks, children's playgrounds, gardens, nature reserves, and sports areas.

Leaflets (pdf file) giving more details about our main sites are available from the Parks Section on 01636 655290 or e-mail : community.services@nsdc.info

Our main park areas include:

Newark Castle Gardens	Vicar Water Country Park
Riverside Park	Sconce & Devon Park
Sherwood Avenue Park,	Other Open Spaces

The District Council is responsible for the management and maintenance of four Green Flag parks, Newark Castle grounds, Sherwood Avenue Park, Sconce & Devon Park and Vicar Water Country Park.

The Parks and Open Spaces Section includes Grounds Maintenance and parks development.

COUNTRY PARKS

There are a number of significant country parks in our District containing a range of habitats and facilities.

Sherwood Forest Country Park

Is managed by Nottinghamshire County Council and contains the famous Major Oak and a number of waymarked forest trails. The park has a visitor centre with exhibitions, shops and restaurants.
The visitor centre is open daily between 10.00hrs and 17.00hrs (April to October) and 10.00hrs and 16.30hrs (November to March). For further details please telephone 01623 823202.

Rufford Country Park

Is managed by Nottinghamshire County Council and contains the remains of the Cistercian Abbey, gardens, woodlands and lake side walks. There is a craft gallery and ceramic centre, craft shop, gift shop, lakeside garden shop and outdoor living shop. Refreshments can be obtained from the Saville Restaurant (lunches and afternoon teas) and the Coach House Cafe. Shops and restaurants are open between 10.00hrs and 17.30hrs in the summer and 10.00hrs and 17.00hrs in the winter. For further details telephone 01623 822944 or visit www.ruffordcraftcentre.org.uk

Vicar Water Country Park

Vicar Water Country Park Is an 80 hectare park managed by Newark and Sherwood District Council which contains waymarked trails for walkers and cyclists (including Sustrans National Cycle Route 6), a visitor centre with cafe, toilets, meeting room and information and a course fishing lake. For further details telephone 01623 466340 or 01623 424836.
A leaflet giving details of the park is available from our Community Facilities Section (telephone 01636 655290) or can be download here vicarwater (PDF, 633 Kb)
The District Council seeks to maintain Vicar Water Country Park to a high standard and in recognition of this and the involvement of the local community the park has been celebrating after receiving a Green Flag Award for 2007, its seventh year of success in this prestigious nation-wide scheme, supported by the Government and managedby the Civic Trust. For further details of the GreenFlag award visit http://www.greenflagaward.org.uk/

Sherwood Pines Forest Park

Is managed by the Forestry Commission and is a large area of woodland with many walking and cycling trails. The site also has a visitor centre and a cycle hire and sales facility. For further details telephone 01623 822447 or visit www.forestry.gov.uk

Beacon Hill Conservation Park

Is managed by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and is located on the eastern edge of Newark. The site contains a range of habitats and has a network of footpaths and cycle routes. For further details telephone 0115 9588242 or visit www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/nottinghamshire

RANGER SERVICE

We employ three rangers within the Parks and Open Spaces Service, one based at Newark Castle Gardens, one based at Vicar Water Country Park at Clipstone and one at Sconce and Devon Park in Newark. The Castle and Sconce and Devon Park Rangers cover sites within the Newark area and are responsible for community liaison, minor maintenance, guided tours and inspecting life belts and play equipment.

The Countryside Ranger is mainly responsible for patrolling and maintaining Vicar Water Country Park but also carries out patrols of other countryside sites in the western area of the district. For further details of the services offered by the Council's rangers please contact the Parks Section on 01636 655290.

PLAYGROUNDS AND ADVENTURE PLAYGROUNDS

We are responsible for the management and maintenance of 29 children's playgrounds across the district. All playgrounds are inspected on a regular basis to ensure that they are safe to use and an annual independent inspection of the Council's playgrounds is carried out by a reputable body such as the National Playing Fields Association or the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

For a list of the playgrounds maintained by the District Council (PDF Format)

Many Parish Council's also provide equipped playgrounds and the majority of playgrounds outside of Newark are the responsibiilty of Parish Councils.

BOWLS

We have two bowling greens, both located in Newark, one at Sherwood Avenue Park and one at Beaumond Gardens. Should you wish to play on either of these greens please contact the Parks Section on 01636 655290 for further details. or email community.services@nsdc.info

Bowling greens are also available in many other towns and villages in the district. For details of these please contact the relevant Parish Council. or bowlsclub info

FOOTBALL PITCHES

We have a number of football pitches for hire including both adult and junior pitches. Rates of hire are very reasonable and include changing and shower faciilties. For further details of how to hire a football pitch please telephone the Community Services Section on 01636 655290 or email Community.services@nsdc.info.

TENNIS COURTS

We have tennis courts which can be used by the public at two locations. Sherwood Avenue Park in Newark and Kelham Hall Grounds adjacent to the District Council's Headquarters.

A small charge is made for the use of the courts at Sherwood Avenue Park, however the courts at Kelham Hall are free of charge and can be used at most times of the day.

GRASS CUTTING

We are responsible for cutting grass on over 400 sites across the district. The grass on these sites is cut to varying lengths and at varying frequencies according to the Council's grounds maintenance specification.

The Council does not collect the grass cuttings on the majority of its sites. There are a number of other organisations in the district responsible for grass cutting and these include Parish Councils, Nottinghamshire County Council and the Environment Agency. For any enquiries concerning grass cutting please contact the District Council's Parks Section on 01636 655290.

GRASS VERGES

The maintenance of roadside grass verges is, in the majority of cases, the responsibility of Nottinghamshire County Council and enquiries should be addressed to the County Council by telephoning 08449 808080

GREEN SPACE STRATEGY

The Council has recently produced a Green Spaces Strategy which highlights the different types of open space in the District and recommends actions to improve them.

Each year we produce a What to See guide (pdf file 1.6Mb) Why not browse through the guide and wet your appetite! The guide is also available by e-mailing tourism@nsdc.info or calling 01636 655765.

Our regular what's on guide,the lens, is published three times a year and covers events throughout the district.

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