Balderstone Park (Green Flag Award), Rochdale

Balderstone Park is a lovely informal community park with wide open spaces, which can easily be reached by foot, bus, or car and boasts many facilities including a popular skate park, free parking; accessible play facilities for all ages, and Balderstone library. 

The £600,000 Million Pavilion extension to the library opened in March 2023 and is home to local group Kirkholt Million offering a wonderful space for local organisations and community groups, a cafe, accessible toilets, and changing facilities for sports clubs.

The park received the prestigious Green Flag award for the first time in 2023, with plans in place to bring new rugby pitches in 2024.

Open every day

Find Balderstone Park on Google Maps

There is free parking by the side of the library in the park, access via Platting Lane. You may be able to park on nearby streets.

• Large skate park
• Outdoor gym equipment
• Junior play area is fully wheelchair accessible and has flush mounted roundabout.
• Adventure play including a zip wire
• Picnic area
• Community Café
• Meeting rooms
• Balderstone Library
• Million Pavilion, home to the resident-led group, Kirkholt Million
• Accessible toilets
• Changing facilities for sports clubs

• Accessible parking: 
  • There's free parking by the side of Balderstone Library in the park. You can access this parking from Platting Lane. Find Platting Lane on Google Maps
  • There are 3 disabled bays by Balderstone Library.
  • There's 1 disabled bay by the Million Pavilion community building.
  • You may also be able to park on nearby streets.
• Paths:
  • There's a f​​lat to low gradient tarmac path from the car parking area into the park to access the picnic area, outdoor gym, junior play area and swings.
  • There's a gravel path to the wildlife area and wood sculpture benches. Although well-compacted, it might not be suitable for all wheelchair users.
• Seating: there are several benches and picnic tables throughout the park for people with limited mobility.
• Play equipment – junior play area:
  • ​​​​​​​The junior play area is fully wheelchair accessible.
  • There's a flush mounted roundabout in the junior play area that's usable to a child in a standard wheelchair, but not mobility scooters.
  • The slide unit has a double width slide so a parent can slide down alongside a child.
• Play equipment – adventure play area:
  • ​​​​​​​The adventure play area is set in a grassed area with no connecting paths.
  • The set of swings is next to the path and wheelchair accessible. There's a shared parent and toddler seat as well as standard swing seating.

Contact the team