(video) Transforming Park Square Roundabout: behind the scenes

Motorists arriving in Sheffield this summer, may have noticed the transformation of Park Square Roundabout, as a profusion of perennial meadow flowers burst into bloom at the city’s entry.

The change was thanks to a collaboration between Professor Nigel Dunnett and students from the Department of Landscape with Pictorial Meadows and Enterprise Rent-a-Car, designed to celebrate the car company’s 20th anniversary of working in the UK.

Following a year-long consultation, work began in November 2015 on Park Square and six other sites across the UK; Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Swindon and Woking.

Students from the Department of Landscape provided visualisations of how the transformed roundabouts could look to help sell the project to local councils.

More than two acres of pre-grown meadow mat were cultivated off site and laid quickly and easily on the roundabouts.

Professor Dunnett said: “this is a major project which is set to be an example for others looking to create sustainable urban landscapes in the UK. We’re taking the meadow look and extending it in ways that have never been applied at this scale before, or in this range of locations. The project provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the impact that colourful naturalistic plantings can have on urban locations, both ecologically and environmentally.”

More information about the transformation can be read here: Work begins on Park Square Roundabout

Roundabouts to be transformed into dramatic perennial landscapes