Breda, in the province of Noord-Brabant, is set to become the first Dutch city to boast a smoke-free park.

The park, on the spot of the former Seelig barracks, will open in May, adding to the list of smoke-free outdoor public places such as playgrounds and bus shelters.

“The first thing you hear is ‘it’s up to me where I smoke,” city health chief Arjen van Drunen told broadcaster NOS. “There’s a lot of grumbling at first, and then people get used to it,” he said.

Many people now feel that it’s the smokers who are making public spaces less accessible. By including a park, Van Drunen said he wants to “adapt the social norm that much further”.

The park will have no-smoking signs but people who do light up will not be chased away by street wardens.

Breda local council will evaluate the effect of the ban after a year and then decide whether more parks will follow.