Sloughbottom Park and Dolphin Path Project

Illustrations of Sports Hub

Help shape the new playground at Sloughbottom Park

Three exciting new play area designs have been created based on feedback from earlier consultations — and now we’d love to hear from you. Take our quick survey on Get Talking Norwich to vote for your favourite design and share your thoughts, by Sunday 14 December.

At the beginning of 2025 Norwich City Council was awarded £7.6m by MHCLG Levelling Up Fund to deliver health and wellbeing improvements to Sloughbottom Park and Dolphin Path.

This project will invest in regeneration and deliver new community and sporting facilities in Sloughbottom Park to support active and healthy lifestyles, which ultimately means raising aspirations, supporting social mobility and promoting economic activity for more people in the area. Specifically, investment will include a new artificial grass football pitch, League-standard changing facilities, new lighting and pathways to improve public safety and accessibility, upgrades to the local BMX track, and storage facilities and the refurbishment of the pavilion to include a café and community room.

The much needed improvements in the design, access and physical appearance of the park will reduce anti-social behaviour, improve community safety and amenity value, thereby supporting the regeneration of Mile Cross and improving park perceptions.

New community facilities

A new artificial grass pitch

A high-quality, consistent playing surface which can be used year-round, greatly enhancing playing capacity and supporting more youth and adult matches. The new pitch will facilitate development of affiliated football in Norwich, plus allow for more youth matches, women and girls’ football, disability football and participation from lower socio-economic groups in Mile Cross and Norwich-wide.

Sports hub

A new Sports Hub meeting the Football Foundation standards, built close to the proposed artificial grass pitch. This will include fully accessible male and female changing, club room, referee changing and an administration office. A publicly accessible changing places facility is included which will be accessible to all members of the public while the park is open.

Multi-purpose pavilion and café

Overlooking the playing fields, the existing pavilion will be refurbished as a more suitable community facility. The pavilion will serve multiple purposes: a café for all users of the park, a community room available to be booked, new public toilets and storage.

Play park

Located in front of the pavilion, the play area will be upgraded with inclusive playground equipment allowing all children to enjoy it. The surfaces within the play park area will also be improved to offer a high level of safety.

BMX track

Resurfacing the track, replacing the track’s start gate with one which offers greater safety, portable floodlights to facilitate year-round use, and purchase of a whacker plate for the Norwich Flyers BMX club located at the park to use so they are able to maintain the track.  

Modular storage facilities

Providing a modular storage facility at the BMX track, for use by the Norwich Flyers and equipment storage.

Car park, paths, signage and lighting

The park’s supporting infrastructure requires improvement to facilitate better access and use. The car park will be resurfaced, with an improved entrance. Paths around the park are uneven and will be resurfaced to improve safety and accessibility. Both the car park and the central path through the park will have lighting installed to improve safety and assist in preventing anti-social behaviour. Signage will be improved throughout Sloughbottom Park.

Cycle highway connections

Upgrades to 450m ‘Dolphin Path’ cycle path which connects the Mile Cross area into the city via National Cycle Route 1 (Marriott’s Way) to improve lighting, path surface where required and replace dilapidated boundary fencing. This will improve access to economic opportunities as well as leisure facilities. In addition, two independent bike repair stations will be installed in Sloughbottom Park.

Dolphin Path

This part of the project will invest in improvements to Dolphin Path, a cycle path which links the Mile Cross area to the city centre. It forms part of the Orange Pedalway Inner Orbital Cycle Route.

The funding will provide motion-sensitive lighting, path surface improvements, and replacement boundary fencing where required. Once complete, the Dolphin Path will connect Mile Cross into the Marriott’s Way cycle highway, which is part of National Cycle Route 1 and connects into the Norwich city centre.