South West London and St George's (SWLSTG) Mental Health NHS Trust are consulting on plans for a new park at Springfield Hospital in Tooting, part of the wider regeneration of the site, which was approved in 2012.

The plans for the new park have generated a high level of interest, with over 1,600 residents responding to the initial questionnaire asking what they would like to see in the new park, and 169 residents attending the three day exhibition from 9th to 11th July.

The park, which will be approximately 32 acres, represents an  opportunity to develop new areas for recreation, relaxation and an environment that promotes physical and mental health and wellbeing in the community.

The Trust has invited local residents, stakeholders, service users and staff to help decide what facilities the park should offer, with key themes including new sports facilities, improved biodiversity, play space for children and educational resources.

Alongside the wider consultation, the Trust has also met with local councillors and representatives of nearby groups, including Battersea Ironsides, Central London Golf Centre, Spencer Club, Friends of Streatham Cemetery and Wandsworth Society.

Matthew Neal, Estates Modernisation Programme Director, said: “We are delighted to have had such good attendance at the public exhibition, which reflects the high level of interest and response to our initial newsletter. We have received a wide range of opinions from across the community, but we are keen to understand as many views as possible as we prepare the Park Strategy.

“All feedback we receive at each stage of the consultation will be taken into consideration in the development of our design proposal. 

“Where possible, we will aim to incorporate the comments into the Park Strategy before it is submitted to Wandsworth Council in early September.”

The public consultation runs until the end of July and there are still a number of ways for residents to give their feedback. Residents can visit the Trust website to view the information displayed at the exhibition and submit their comments via the online questionnaire.

In addition, exhibition panels will be on display at two local venues from 21st to 24th July to allow local people a further opportunity to view the information and provide their comments:

• Tooting Neighbourhood Centre (28 Glenburnie Rd, SW17 7PJ) – Tuesday 21st July to Wednesday 22nd July (9:30am to 5:30pm on both dates)
• Tooting Library (75 Mitcham Road, SW17 9PD) – Thursday 23rd (9am – 7pm) to Friday 24th July (9am to 5pm)

If you have any questions regarding the new Springfield Park or the wider Springfield Regeneration programme, you can contact the Trust using the following detail:

• Email: swlmh.consultation@nhs.net
• Telephone: 020 7871 3565
• Twitter: @SWLSTG

All the information presented at the public exhibitions will be available to view online and the 2012 Park Strategy is available here.