Winter Wonderland not going ahead at town park

Winter Wonderland has taken place three times in Bedford but the council says it is not going ahead this year

A winter wonderland event that has run for the past three years will not go ahead at a town park this Christmas.

A Bedford Borough Council committee heard that the operator of Winter Wonderland had "decided not to return" to Bedford Park in 2025.

Concerns were previously raised by residents about noise and damage to the park, after one season experienced heavy and persistent rainfall.

However, operator Stanley Thurston and Sons paid to repair Bedford Park after the grass turned to mud during the month-long event in December 2023.

People attended the event in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The organisers sought planning permission for the event for the first two years, shortly before it was due to start, but it went ahead without it.

The festival was granted temporary planning permission for the 2025 incarnation.

At an environmental scrutiny committee on Thursday, a councillor asked for an update about the event.

Paul Pace, who is the council's service director for public realm, highways and waste management, said: "There is no winter wonderland this year – the operator has decided not to return to the park."

Labour councillor Colleen Atkins said it was "good news that Winter Wonderland isn't coming to Bedford Park," according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She asked for clarity on whether the proprietor had decided "not to come to Bedford full stop, or is there somewhere else that they are thinking of holding a Winter Wonderland?"

"They're not coming to Bedford at this moment in time," Mr Pace replied.

"There's very few locations where they can operate the scale and the footprint they wish to do.

"That's not to say it won't ever return to somewhere in Bedford, but it won't be this year."

Mr Pace added that the condition of the site - following last year's temporary planning permission - had returned "back to how it should be".

No taxpayers' money was used to restore the site, Mr Pace added.

The BBC contacted Stanley Thurston and Sons for comment.