South London to house biggest park since the Olympics

A new public park is set to open in Tooting, South London, as part of a £150m revamp of Springfield University Hospital.

The project from South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust to transform Springfield University Hospital and provide new world-class mental health facilities was approved in 2020.

The 32-acre park will feature a pavilion café, amphitheatre, gardens, children’s playgrounds, ponds, a new footbridge, and a youth shelter.

Phillip Murray, director of finance and performance at the trust, said: “Other than the Olympic Village opening I think this will be the biggest park that’s been opened in London in time immemorial – certainly for people my age, we won’t know any other parks that have opened of this size. So it’s something very much that we believe will be good for the community and good for Wandsworth borough.”

The new park is expected to open to the public in three phases between the spring of 2023 and the summer of 2025.