REVIVING PAGE HALL (COPY)

On a sunny afternoon in late March, a quiet alleyway in Page Hall, Sheffield, beams with colour. Tucked away behind rows of Victorian houses, the freshly painted mural which sprawls along the footpath has been lovingly adorned with eye-popping flowers crafted from children’s handprints.

It is the culmination of five days of hard work by volunteers, bringing together local residents, church members and school kids to brighten up the area. But just a week earlier, this alleyway- the main route to a nearby primary school- looked a very different picture.

“It was horrendous,” says James Richards, head of Sheffield City Council’s Page Hall Neighbourhood Service. “There’s fly-tipping, people urinating, broken glass, piles of rubbish and dead rats. And kids have to walk up and down here every day.”

James describes a scene which for many has become synonymous with Page Hall. Situated in Burngreave, one of the most deprived wards in Sheffield, a quick google search will stir a tidal wave of negative press about the suburb, targeting the community for issues around littering, overcrowding and anti-social behaviour.

It is a reputation which James says weighs heavily on the people living here.

“You think of the kids. There are hundreds of kids in this area, and they don't need Facebook and Twitter chucking it in their face all the time,” he says. “What they need, once we're sorted between us and partners in the community, is for this to be a nicer area to live in.”

To tackle key issues facing the neighbourhood, James and his team coordinated the ‘Page Hall Week of Action’ from 24 to 28 March- a series of activities driven by members of the community.

The initiative saw local residents employed to lead a spring clean of litter in the area, and the creation of the mural off Robey street, which it is hoped will deter people from fly-tipping.

Although the action week has now finished, it was part of a much larger movement in this area.

Over the past year, many people who live and work in Page Hall have spearheaded their own projects, hoping to breathe new life into a place often considered left behind.

The handprints of local schoolchildren make up flowers on the mural (Image: Billy Clarke)

The handprints of local schoolchildren make up flowers on the mural (Image: Billy Clarke)

WATCH: Sheffield artist Rebekah Gray, who masterminded the mural on Robey Street, explains how the project came together

THE MOSQUE

"We're bringing it back and reviving something that needs to be there”

Wahid Nazir stands with a fruit tree planted in the centre of his Mosque's community garden (Image: Billy Clarke)

The garden bursts to life with wildflowers and vegetables in the summer months (Image: Lu Watkins)

The garden bursts to life with wildflowers and vegetables in the summer months (Image: Lu Watkins)

WATCH: Wahid Nazir shows us around the mosque's beautiful garden

Sandwiched at the busy intersection between Page Hall’s two main roads, the Jamia Masjid (Mosque) Ghausia has been at the forefront of change here.

Its front lawn sat unused for years after mosque leaders fenced it off to curb anti-social behaviour that had taken hold, including drug use and prostitution.

But since March 2024 the space has been transformed into a thriving vegetable garden, thanks to a dedicated team of mosque volunteers led by committee member Wahid Nazir.

“It was something nice, that was just pushed out the way,” says Wahid, who gives up weekends to tend the garden. “We're bringing it back and reviving something that needs to be there.”

Wahid is drawing on the expertise of elders at the mosque, some of whom were farmers before moving to the UK.

He says: “They have skills they can offer. They're coming in and saying ‘we used to do this in the past, and this is how you do it’.”

Their passion is paying off; the garden yielded 10kg of potatoes, 5kg of carrots and 25kg of squashes in its first year alone, raising over £200 for the mosque through selling the produce.

Now Wahid is sharing his knowledge- and plants- with other projects popping up in the area.

THE MEDICAL CENTRE

“If I'm feeling very over-stimulated or overwhelmed, I come here and it calms me down”

Primroses, daffodils and hyacinths are among the flowers planted in this "secret garden" (Image: Billy Clarke)

Nestled a little further down the road in the car park of Page Hall Medical Centre, a “secret garden” has taken shape, offering patients and locals a space to heal.

Centred around a large wooden planter brimming with vibrant flowers, it is the brainchild of NHS practice nurse Ann Gregory, who championed the green space as an alternative treatment to boost her patients’ wellbeing.

She says: “It's just encouraging people to think of another way of managing their health that isn't just a prescription for a painkiller, and having that service local to where a person lives.”

Signs labelling the plants, painted in multiple languages to reflect the area’s diversity, were created by Fir Vale resident Naila Khan, who says volunteering in the garden has transformed her life.

“This has become my quiet, calm, safe space,” says Naila, who lives with anxiety. “If I'm feeling very over-stimulated or overwhelmed, I come here and it calms me down.”

Naila volunteers in the garden every week alongside Lu Watkins from the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust, helping grow herbs and vegetables which are handed out to visitors.

“We've had patients who I've given carrots to take home,” recalls Naila. “Then I’ve met them later and they’ve said ‘oh, we really enjoyed that,’ which is just amazing.”

An NHS worker tends to vegetables in the garden on her lunch break (Image: Lu Watkins)

An NHS worker tends to vegetables in the garden on her lunch break (Image: Lu Watkins)

Handmade signs are written English, Arabic, Urdu, Slovak and French (Image: Billy Clarke)

Handmade signs are written English, Arabic, Urdu, Slovak and French (Image: Billy Clarke)

WATCH: Practice Nurse Ann Gregory explains the ethos behind the "secret garden"

THE COMMUNITY HUB

"People just wanted somewhere they could feel relaxed"

Jade Wilkes, who runs the Oasis Community Hub, stands in front of raised beds dug by volunteers (Image: Billy Clarke)

Volunteers come together to plant fruit and vegetables in the communal garden at the Oasis Community Hub (Image: Lu Watkins)

Volunteers come together to plant fruit and vegetables in the communal garden at the Oasis Community Hub (Image: Lu Watkins)

Naila also volunteers at the neighbouring Oasis Community Hub, which provides family support services and meeting spaces for people in the area.

Once just a tangle of bushes, raised beds were installed behind the centre after users requested a space to grow food, which now teems with garlic, onions and strawberries that are shared with local people.

“There's not really that many safe, green spaces within the community, so people just wanted somewhere they could feel relaxed,” says Community Hub Leader Jade Wilkes.

“You're not going to come here and find rubbish that's going to potentially hurt your children, so it’s good for wellbeing and makes you feel more calm.”

These projects are just a snapshot of the work people here are doing to take control of their environment which, with support from the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust, has also seen school kids planting flowers along road verges, and mini-gardens popping up around street trees to deter littering.

Back at the mosque, Wahid Nazir says the community still has a long way to go, but things are moving in the right direction.

“It's not going to happen overnight, but there are shoots. There are people getting it,” he says. “If everybody does their little bit it adds up, and the environment is a lot cleaner, the air is a lot cleaner, and it’s a lot more pleasant.”