Concerns as park left 'churned up' after BBC event

Councillor Richard Kemp says he is concerned about the environmental impact on Sefton Park

Part of a city park has been left damaged, with grass and paths "churned up by vehicles" after a music event was held there, a local councillor has said.

Sefton Park in Liverpool hosted the three-day BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

Ten days on from the event, local people have been sharing photographs online of the damage to grass and paths.

Liverpool City Council said "the damage was not extensive" but the BBC was responsible for any repairs. BBC Radio 1 has been contacted for comment.

Opposition councillor Liberal Democrat Richard Kemp said he was concerned about the scale of the damage.

"I'm concerned about the grass and any gouging effects and trees pushed back or damaged during the installation of security fencing," he said.

Part of the park was fenced off for the three-day-event

Mr Kemp, a councillor for nearby Penny Lane, added he had requested a report from the council to look at the impact to the local area and the environment.

A city council representative said site walks had already taken place and a plan was "currently being pulled together which will provide a timescale for the repairs".

"The damage is not extensive and the reinstatement work will be carried out by Liverpool Street Scene Ltd," it added.

Local people have been sharing photographs of the park 10 days after the event

In 2024 the city became the world's first Accelerator City for climate action, under UN Climate Change's Entertainment and Culture for Climate Action programme.

The city council representative said the authority had worked with external specialists to monitor the impact of the Big Weekend event, which included the "impact on the environment and sustainability" and would share those finding once a report has been written "in the coming months".

Over 100,000 people attended the Big Weekend over three days at Sefton Park

Regular Sefton Park user Adam said he thought he damage was "minimal" and said it was "no worse than on a campsite where tents have been".

A local resident, who did not want to be named, said she thought the grass had been protected "really well" and the event had been well organised.

"There was hardly any traffic disruption and not much noise," she said.

"The streets were fairly clean after, much cleaner than after a lot of other events. I thought it was really good for the city."