Creating happier, healthier streets
As part of the ERF delivery, streetscene improvements have proven to be immensely popular. These enhancements range from practical additions like bins, benches, and planters to transformative elements such as parklets, shopfront upgrades, and even a green living wall—all funded through ERF support. Each high street we've worked with has tailored these upgrades to reflect the character and needs of their local community, creating public spaces that resonate with both residents and visitors.
Sometimes, it's the simplest changes that have the biggest impact. Many projects have focused on essentials like installing bins, benches, lamppost banners, and planters, delivering tangible benefits across areas including Hillsborough, Middlewood, Hackenthorpe, Totley, Page Hall, Manor Park, and Ecclesfield. These small but meaningful additions have made a real difference: bins encourage cleaner streets, benches provide a welcome spot to rest, and vibrant planters bring a splash of natural beauty to urban settings.
Beyond the basics, practical upgrades like bollards have helped deter problematic parking, while cycle racks provide secure storage for cyclists. Noticeboards have become hubs for businesses and community groups to share news and events, and banners give high streets a unique identity, proudly showcasing their character to passersby—whether on foot or in transit.
This approach demonstrates how well-designed streetscene improvements can energize public spaces, making them more inviting and functional for everyone.
Below are just a few examples:
Abbeydale:
In ERF 1, the team launched a project to create a new green space along Abbeydale Road, enhancing recent tree planting efforts in the area. They designed and installed a vibrant parklet with planters at the end of a cul-de-sac near the main road, aiming to make this bustling yet heavily polluted part of the city more inviting. Local residents and businesses contribute to the parklet’s upkeep, watering plants and sweeping weekly, which fosters a genuine sense of community ownership.
Thanks to cost efficiencies, the team was also able to fund the replacement of street trees that had succumbed to the extreme summer heat of 2022. These new trees, along with the parklet, help form a green corridor into the city center, supporting the team’s goals of enhancing biodiversity and providing benefits to both people and wildlife.
To further elevate the parklet, a local mural artist painted a unique design on its surface, transforming it into a vibrant, eye-catching feature.
In ERF 2, the project expanded with additional public space improvements. A new brand identity, displayed on lamppost banners and bins, added cohesion, while the installation of two new benches and funding for shutter art brought more color and character to the area.
Broomhill:
In ERF1, Broomhill embarked on a transformative scheme that revitalised 45 shopfronts, breathing new life into the area. Businesses were invited to select from a carefully curated palette of colours, chosen not only to respect the area’s conservation status but also for their environmental benefits. The innovative paint used has carbon-capturing properties—an important consideration for a location with heavy through traffic.
Further addressing air pollution and enhancing the area's visual appeal, a striking green living wall was installed at the corner of Fulwood and Glossop Roads. This iconic feature, combined with seasonal planting schemes, has created a lush and inviting atmosphere, dramatically improving the high street’s aesthetics.
Banners, designed to complement the shopfront colour palette, contribute to a cohesive sense of place, reinforcing the area’s identity. During the festive season, the shopfronts came alive with illuminated Christmas trees, infusing the street with a magical, celebratory ambiance that delighted visitors and residents alike.
Looking ahead, the final piece of Broomhill’s streetscene enhancements will be the installation of a beautifully illustrated noticeboard. This feature will include an artist-designed map of the area and a link to the newly refreshed website, promoting local businesses and inviting more people to explore this vibrant, rejuvenated community.
Firth Park:
Firth Park Forum were keen to encourage people to see the area as ‘family friendly’, and this was the core focus of their project. To achieve this the team wanted to improve the public space, particularly in and around the park (adjacent to the shops) and add colour and more planting and seating spaces to this well-used and bustling area.
In the park, one of the first things the team funded was a reduction in some hedging that separated the main area of the park from the high street, next to the park café. People said the height of the hedges made them unsafe, as there was poor visibility. This had an immediate impact on how people locally felt, and their confidence in using the park and seeing it as a friendly space. As well as this, 8 new picnic tables and 3 new benches were installed, which have proved popular and are well used especially during the spring and summer months. Families purchase food from the local businesses and eat their food at the picnic tables exactly as intended. The café’s seating area as also extended making this area have a more open aspect, which contributes to deterring anti-social behaviour. The installation of 6 new litter bins encourages park users to dispose of their rubbish responsibly and new shrubs for the flower beds in this area were planted last year and are now giving a good display of colour and interest along with additional planting that has been done by local volunteers. The LED lighting on 15 park trees close to the shopping centre has livened up the park from dusk to late evening and has been widely admired by local residents and visitors.
Outside of the park, the gates on the roundabout at the centre of the area were painted and repairs completed to the structure, including the masonry. Previous planting was removed and replaced with new flower beds that were planted by local volunteers who will continue to renew the planting each season. Seven large planters were installed around the shopping area to soften the look and feel of the highs street and add colour and greening to the retail area. A local company was also commissioned to construct, install and maintain a bespoke planter and seating area for the centre of the Firth Park shopping centre and two new benches were also installed on Sicey Avenue to provide more seating outside the shops on that road.
