A-Z of parks - B

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Parks

Ball games

Southampton has a variety of bookable and free pitches for various ball games across the city. Wherever possible we would encourage you to use these for your ball games.

To book sports pitches for a range of sports including tennis, hockey, netball, football, cricket and lacrosse please contact Active Nation on 023 8079 0693 or email sports.centre@activenation.org.uk

If you do find yourself using a non-designated piece of green space then please follow these simple rules:

  • Be aware of your surroundings and who else is using the green space
  • Do not disturb other users
  • Use soft or air flow balls to prevent accidents
  • Avoid causing damage
  • Do not play in or through flowers or shrub beds
  • Avoid digging up, rutting or other damage to grass areas

Across the city there are various informal football areas, where goal posts have been provided, these can be used at anytime for unofficial football games. Where official sports pitches are provided with line marked pitches and goal posts, we ask that your refrain from using the goal areas. Unofficial use of these areas can cause damage to them and make them unplayable for the official football teams who hire them.

Throughout the city 'free to use' multi use games areas (MUGA) and all weather ball courts have been provided. These provide all weather surfaces for a variety of games. These are not currently bookable and generally work on a first come first served basis. If playing on tennis court facilities and others are waiting please restrict your game to 30 minutes to allow others to share the court. The tennis courts in East Park can be booked through the cafe.

Hitting golf balls across a green space can be very dangerous. We therefore ask that this is restricted to those areas designated for golf which can be booked through the relevant provider, there are courses at Southampton golf course and the mini-golf in East Park.

Banners, poster etc

Only banners and posters advertising or promoting public activities in the park, or relating to the park, are permitted.

Before displaying any banner or poster please contact the area manager* to approve your request and prevent removal. Any banner or poster causing damage to park feature, especially trees and other plants, or obscuring any park information, including interpretation boards or signs, will be removed.

*Many park noticeboards are looked after by the park friends group. Please contact the relevant group if you wish to display a poster, advertising a park activity, on a noticeboard

We do not allow any other advertising or promotions in our parks and any unauthorised material will be removed and disposed of.

Barbecues

In our larger District and City Parks you will find designated areas for barbecuing and we ask that you stick to these areas so that other users can enjoy their visit to the park. You will be asked to move to these areas if found to be barbecuing elsewhere in these parks. In all other green spaces or where there is no clear instruction, we ask that you take a sensible approach to where you have your barbecue and follow some simple rules:

  • avoid using disposable barbecues (these burn holes in the grass areas)
  • do not put barbecues on picnic table tops and wooden benches, unless they are furnished with metal barbecue plates
  • please keep water nearby to dowse the barbecue at the end of the cooking
  • dowse charcoal at the end of cooking to ensure it is cool before disposal
  • dispose of the ashes responsibly (where possible we will provide metal lined bins for this purpose)
  • do not put hot ashes in bins other than those provided for the purpose,
  • do not leave food behind, please dispose of in a nearby bin, (food scraps will attract rats and could harm other wildlife)
  • do not put coals or ashes in streams, ditches or ponds where it could cause pollution and harm to wildlife
  • respect other users and minimise smoke wherever possible

Benches

Bins

Please help us to reduce the amount of litter in our green spaces and take your rubbish home.

General use bins are provided throughout most parks and many green spaces. These can be used for general rubbish and bagged dog waste. Dedicated dog waste bins are no longer provided due to the cost of emptying what would be deemed as toxic waste. Bagged dog waste is not designated toxic if mixed with general waste. Please put bagged dog waste in general waste bins. Where recycling bins are provided use these for waste that is recyclable such as clean, dry paper and card, empty plastic bottles and metal cans.

Dropping litter is an offence and if caught could lead to prosecution.

If you find a bin that is full please phone 023 8083 3008 and we will try to get it emptied as soon as we can.