A council spokesperson said it is the aim of the event organisers to minimise disruption as much as possible for regular users of Sefton Park
Preparations for BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend are well underway Sefton Park
Preparations for BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend are well underway Sefton Park, with fencing and signage being erected around the area. There have also been a number of temporary road closures in areas surrounding the parkland, while work is carried out to prepare the site for the festival.
In preparation for the shows, Liverpool Council has issued a temporary prohibition of driving order beginning on May 22 up to June 6 in some places. The three-day music festival will take place from Friday, May 23, until Sunday, May 25, with an incredible line-up of stars set to grace the city over the weekend.
Sam Fender and Mumford & Sons will headline the festival, which takes place each year in a different location across the UK. Other big names set to make an appearance include Jade, Sugababes, Lola Young, Myles Smith and Natasha Bedingfield.
Fans can also look forward to performances by Biffy Clyro, James Hype and Tom Grennan. Tickets for two of the days are now completely sold out, with the only option available to still attend as a fan being on Friday, May 23.
As Sefton Park has started to be transformed into the festival site, a number of locals had their say on the scale of the operations involved in creating an event of this scale.
Preparations for BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend are well underway Sefton Park
Tim Kershaw said: “Not very happy – it’s a while until the concert and the fencing around the park is already extensive. During set up there are vehicles driving through the park.
“I can understand the need to generate revenue but it is a public park where people should be able to wander at will without having to worry about restrictions.
“It comes at a time of unusually good weather too when the park is at its best and should be fully accessible for all to enjoy.”
John Luxton said: “Drove round there today – hardly considerate for local people. The size of the fences are ridiculous. I didn’t know anything about this until a near neighbour told me a couple of days ago.
“Given that Liverpool has an arena and currently three football grounds does the north end of Sefton Park have to be monopolised and closed off over a bank holiday weekend?”
Preparations for BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend are well underway Sefton Park
Catherine Rose Burns said: “This is an absolute nightmare for those of us who live locally. Blocked out of the park in areas close to our homes and roads around it.”
Lindsey Clarke said: “It doesn’t start until May 23 – causing mayhem as usual for school runs”, while Robbie Connolly-Hill said: “Not for near two weeks – [I’d] understand maybe five days.”
Carmel Moss said: “And what an inconvenience it’s causing for residents living around here.” Veronica Dooley said: “Ridiculous closing roads already. No consideration for residents. Too many events in Sefton Park. Need to spread them around Merseyside.”
Olivia Metcalfe said: “Can’t even walk through the park, which is public and not private. Considering roads will be closed up to and including the Monday bank holiday when Liverpool do their tour, it’s going to be a nightmare for anyone trying to drive to work, home etc.”
However, despite these complaints, other locals were overwhelmingly positive about the upcoming event. Susan Davidson said: “It’s not the whole park, just a part of it. One weekend in the year. I live on the park – I’m fine with it. Hotels and bars will be full, taxis busy. Isn’t that what we want?”
And while the set-up operation and fencing is extensive, there will still be huge areas of the park that will remain open to the public over the coming weeks and during the festival.
Liverpool City Council confirmed the majority of the park will still be “accessible”, meaning the public can still visit during the Bank Holiday weekend regardless of whether they have a ticket or not.
Sefton Park will host the festival for three days during the May Bank Holiday weekend
A spokesperson told the ECHO: “It is the aim of the event organisers to minimise disruption as much as possible for regular users of Sefton Park. This is an extensive space of 200 acres, and the event site will only take up part of it, so there will still be plenty of space for the public to utilise and enjoy.
“In the lead up to the event and during the de-rig, there will be some restricted areas as the event site is built/taken down. 75% of the park will still be accessible, so you can visit it during the weekend without a ticket.
“Part of Croxteth Drive (from Aigburth Drive) is currently closed to enable the safe build of the site, and as we get closer to the event, other road closures will be in place ahead of the event.”
Warnings for road closures have been given(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
The council stressed that residents will still be able to access their properties at all times and the road closures “will make it easy for them to travel to and from home, so they won’t have to deal with navigating a huge increase in vehicles in the area”.
And today, city officials moved to further calm concerns around the impact on one of Liverpool’s most popular green spaces after a former council leader claimed it would cause “untold chaos.”
Warren Bradley, who led Liverpool Council between 2005 and 2010 expressed his frustration at traffic management systems put in place ahead of the two day festival next weekend.
Mr Bradley said the regulations around the park to facilitate the festival is causing “unbelievable” congestion across a much wider area, prompting him to question the current administration as to why Sefton Park had been chosen to host the event.
The performance stages are starting to be built(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Claire McColgan, Liverpool’s director for culture, has told the ECHO while some disruption was inevitable, planning has taken place to ensure it minimises the impact on residents and businesses around the park.
The ECHO understands these plans were developed collaboratively by the BBC, Liverpool Council’s highways department and Merseyside Police. Ms McColgan explained how the process had been conducted.
She said: “Big Weekend has been more than seven months in the planning, although it affects 25% of the park, minimising its impact on residents and businesses has been at the heart of the city council’s and Radio 1’s plans. With an event of this scale, some disruption is inevitable, and extensive consultation has taken place over recent months.
Several roads have now officially been closed
“We have issued thousands of information packs to residents and businesses in the area and worked closely with all the schools affected to ensure staff and pupils can get in and out as smoothly as possible. We’ve also met with the Sefton Park and Lark Lane Forums, and local councillors have been encouraged to share information via their networks.
“We have teams continually monitoring the roads around Sefton Park on a daily basis and to date there have been no traffic issues. We’d like to thank people for their continued understanding and if anyone has any queries they should check out the helpful FAQs on the Visit Liverpool website.”
An event safety plan has been developed by the event organisers with input from joint agencies and stakeholders. Monthly meetings have been held since January, culminating in approval from the safety advisory group.