Park left 'devastated' by festival damage

A pillar had to be tied to stop it from falling

A Victorian park has been left "devastated" by festivals and is being used as a "cash cow", local residents have said.

It comes after stone pillars and grass at Leazes Park in Newcastle were damaged during In The Park Festival over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Urban Green, which is responsible for the city's parks, said that returfing and reseeding of the damaged grass would begin next week and that it expected the area to "bounce back very quickly".

The festival organisers have been approached for a comment.

Dawn Howe, a member of the Friends of Leazes Park group, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), that the park had been "devastated" and it could not be used during the recent good weather.

"It is not just three days of disruption for an event – it is the week beforehand to set it up and then the months and months afterwards before it becomes usable again," she added.

An event vehicle is said to have caused the damage to the pillars

One of the stone pillars at the park's entrance off Richardson Road has been knocked to the ground, while the other has had to be tied to the railings to stop it from collapsing.

The damage is believed to have been caused by vehicles driving through the gates to set up or dismantle the festival site.

Large sections of grass near the bandstand have also been destroyed.

Urban Green Newcastle confirmed that the entrance piers had been damaged by an event vehicle "despite all the safeguards put in place".

It added it had contacted stonemasons "to carry out the works as soon as possible".

"The event organisers have accepted full responsibility for the damage and will pay for all repairs," a spokesperson said.

'Cash cow'

Urban Green was given control of Newcastle’s parks and allotments by the city council in 2019.

The charity has made hosting large events a key part of its income-generating plans.

But Ms Howe said that using the park to stage festivals and other large events was "no good for wildlife, no good for people, and we are just heartbroken".

She complained that Leazes Park had seen "no improvements" to justify events being staged there and claimed it was being treated as a "cash cow".

Sections of grass were also damaged

"The park is sustaining more and more damage and we are losing more and more wildlife,” Ms Howe said.

Urban Green said that it only staged two large-scale events per year in Leazes Park "to ensure there is limited impact to residents, park users, and wildlife in the area".

It added all event organisers were required to carry out risk assessments, take measures to reduce impact and repair any damage.

"The vast majority of feedback is hugely positive, and the events programme across the parks opens up the city’s green spaces for everyone," a spokesperson said.