Diggle Steet Park Project

We’ve been working to improve this park in Springfield, Wigan, for several years. 

After many local conversations and an online survey, we knew that many people wanted a better park, with generally more trees and flowers, and less anti-social behaviour. It’s a large space with a lot of bare grass, offering little for people or pollinators.

Initially, we received funding from The Tree Council to plant a native hedgerow. We planted these as whips in 2023 with a group of local volunteers and neighbours over a weekend – and now the hedge is really thriving. 

One of the major issues we noticed with the park is that there was no seating, so groups of teens or adults would sit on the gym equipment or the kids’ play equipment, which feels inherently off-putting, even when causing no problems at all. 

And we saw older people also struggle to stand for longer periods with dogs or to sit on the grass and get up. With fewer invitations to stop and stay in the park, which made it emptier more often, and therefore easier to get up to no good. 

With support from Northern Heart & Soul CIC, Springfield Beech Hill Gidlow Community (SBHG), and local councillors Dave Wood & Sheila Ramsdale, we secured funding to install a much-needed seating area. 

We organised the project and worked with DMK Landscapes, so now we have a park square in the centre of the park.  3 robust benches and paving were installed in April 2024 and are well used. We’ve received comments about a whole new community that has arisen from being able to just sit and enjoy the space together. 

The latest updates have been made thanks to the Greater Manchester Greenspaces fund in 2025. We teamed up with The Orchard Project and SBHG to bid for a new community orchard and more flower beds. 

We found out we were successful in Dec 2025, so we got to work quickly to plant a new community orchard in Feb 2026. As this work must be done in winter. 

It was a fantastic digging day, and around 40 local people showed up to join in. We planted all the trees in a day, and we have a mix of plums, apples, cherries, pears, a hazelnut and even a mulberry. When the trees mature, the fruit will be free for anyone to take. 

And since then, we’ve been planting flowerbeds around the park with help from neighbours, and will be adding a wildflower patch and hundreds of bulbs in autumn this year. The flowers have been chosen for their year-round interest, appeal to pollinators and drought tolerance. They are really brightening up the park so far!

In winter 2026, with TOP, we’ll offer a free orchard training session so anyone can come and learn to prune and care for the trees in a holistic way, ensuring we all have the local knowledge to care for them. There will also be a juicing party in September because we all love a celebration.  

We’re not saying we’ve solved the problem of antisocial behaviour, but from local conversations, the feeling around the park is much more positive these days, and we think it’s only going to improve. 

Thanks to people helping out on digging days, the space is really transforming – it looks so beautiful, and we’re so happy that generations will be able to enjoy the space and the fruit trees for years to come.

If you live nearby, please follow us on socials or join our email list for updates about the park. There is also a Facebook group, Friends of Diggle Street Park