Work has begun on a new heritage-themed adventure golf course at Selby Park, the centrepiece of a wider regeneration scheme for one of the town’s most popular green spaces. North Yorkshire Council has earmarked £353,000 for Phase 1 of the Selby Park Development Project, delivered through the authority’s Abbey Quarter programme, which aims to strengthen the park’s role as a link between the Station Gateway area and Selby town centre.
The nine-hole course will replace the park’s existing crazy golf course, which has served visitors for more than 30 years; removal work began on Monday 14 September, carried out by NY Highways, the council’s highways maintenance company, with fencing installed as a security measure. Designers RL Golf are due to start building the new course on Monday 21 September.
Each hole will be themed around a different chapter of Selby’s history, from the Viking settlers who founded the town, through Selby Abbey and its medieval market heritage, to the importance of the River Ouse for local trade. Later holes cover the town’s industrial and transport legacy, including shipbuilding, the arrival of the railway, and coal mining and power generation, before finishing with a modern-day Selby-themed final hole. Alongside the course, the scheme includes new lawn games such as croquet, giant Jenga, cornhole and Kubb (a Swedish game involving throwing wooden blocks), plus improvements to lighting, signage and seating.
Ambitions to regenerate
Cllr Malcolm Taylor, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, whose brief includes parks and grounds, said: “The investment supports our ambitions to regenerate Selby town centre, encourage healthier lifestyles and enhance one of the area’s most valued community spaces for residents, families and visitors.” He added: “Parks play a vital role in supporting health and wellbeing, and these improvements will help ensure Selby Park remains a welcoming, accessible and high-quality destination for generations to come.”
The council says the plans were shaped by consultation with more than 300 residents and stakeholder organisations, including dedicated sessions with young people, which found strong support for investment in the park and identified the mini golf course as a much-loved attraction in need of renewal.
