Saunders Park

Located towards the east of the city, Saunders Park is a well-used community park.

The park is L-shaped and partly sloped, with a flatter lower area at the Lewes Road end. Over the last few years, we've improved the park with an upgraded café. The café includes public toilets with a disabled toilet facility.

We've created colourful "More than you thought" signage. This shows some of the many facilities and attractions of this 4-acre community and wildlife haven including:

children's playground
paddling pool
wildlife pond
basketball/football court
café
dog walking area
community food growing
public toilets

Opening times

Park opening times

The park is always open.

Café opening times

Find opening times and updates about the cafe on the Laz in the Park Facebook page.

Getting to Saunders Park

Saunders Park is within easy walking distance of Coombe Road and Lewes Road.

The main access to the park is via a gate near the bus stop on Lewes Road. There's also pedestrian access from Hollingdean Road.

Bus

Many buses stop right outside the park on Lewes Road. There are many bus routes which connect the park to areas such as:

Moulescoomb
Bevendean
Coldean

Further bus information and timetables are available from Brighton & Hove Bus Company.

Cycling

There's a cycle path running along Lewes Road directly outside Saunders Park’s main entrance.

There are cycle racks by the playground and more inside the park. You can access them via the gateway from the pathway on the park’s southern side.

Cars

There's limited on-street parking on surrounding roads off Lewes Road and Hollingdean Road. There's car parking a few minutes away for customers shopping at the Pavilion Retail Park.

Activities at Saunders Park

Saunders Park Edible Garden project

Brighton and Hove Food Partnership are aiming to turn Saunders Park into a vibrant, edible community garden. Volunteers are always welcome. Find out more about the Saunders Park Edible Garden.

Community composting at Saunders Park

You can also use the community composting facility at Saunders Park. This facility is one of 40 city-wide which helps people without garden space to compost their green waste.

Facilities at Saunders Park

Children’s playground

Saunders Park has a refurbished playground mainly set among trees for shelter.

The playground includes:

play equipment
a toddler area

Basketball and football

We renovated and brightened up this area with a unique design on its playing surface by local artist Lois O’Hara. To use the courts, make a sports booking.

Paddling pool

Located by the children’s playground and surrounded by benches, the pool is open in the summer months. It's managed by Freedom Leisure on behalf of the city council.

We've improved the area around the pool, with a new fenced area and more seating.

Services at Saunders Park

Laz’ in the Park café and toilets

The café was rebuilt in 2020 and offers primarily locally sourced food and drink. You can enjoy refreshments inside, in the outside seating area, or take them away. Find out more about the Laz' in the Park cafe.

There are public toilets, including a disabled toilet, inside the café building. The toilets are open when the café is open and the café manages and maintains them.

Points of interest

History of Saunders Park

It's recorded by the city’s people’s history website MyBrightonandHove that Saunders Park was made in 1924. This was on the site of the Lewes Road waterworks. The Parks Department had used the site as a nursery.

In the same year, Arthur and Benjamin Saunders offered an area of their land behind the pumping station to the then Brighton Corporation for about £1,000. The Brighton Corporation named the park after them. Several old flint walls from the waterworks are still visible at the park.

Saunders Park Eco-project

Brighton and Hove Food Partnership are working with the council to create a garden which is:

accessible
sustainable
a source of edible plants, fruit and vegetables

As part of the project, there are:

help-yourself planters growing vegetables
a wildlife pond
an orchard

Volunteering with the Saunders Park Eco-project

Volunteers are always welcome.

There are tasks to suit everyone. Tasks could include:

weeding and clearing
digging new beds
cutting back or clearing
watering
harvesting
making refreshments for other volunteers

Find out more about the project on the onsite noticeboards at the front of the park.