Moor Park restoration finally underway after Radio 2 concert

The restoration of Preston’s Moor Park did not begin in earnest until last week – more than two months after the Radio 2 In The Park gig that left parts of it a muddy wasteland.

A deluge on the third and final day of the event in early September reduced the surface of the usually pristine green space to little more than a bog in some areas.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can now reveal that further wet weather in the weeks since the concert has hampered the long-term clean-up operation – meaning it has only got under way in recent days.

Preston City Council has also acknowledged that the start of the reinstatement process has caused affected parts of the park to look even worse than they did previously – at least for now.

The authority said back in September it had been advised to leave the ground to dry out and then reseed those places where it was necessary to do so in the springtime.

However, action has now been taken to improve the water runoff from the site via a special process known as verti-draining.   That is a type of aeration which sees holes between eight and 12 inches deep dug into the turf.  Not only does it reduce standing water, but also breaks up any compaction of the surface which has already occurred.

The high-profile music festival – which featured performances by artists including Sting, the Pet Shop Boys and the Sugababes – was attended by more than 68,000 people and is estimated to have generated £5m of spending within the Preston economy.

The city authority has previously said the BBC events team is assisting with the restoration project.  The LDRS asked who was footing the bill for the work and was told it would be “partially funded” by the broadcaster, – but the exact share and total cost have not yet been revealed.

A spokesperson for Preston City Council said the damage to the park was worst in the area where the catering trucks were located.

They added:  “Due to wet weather since the event, recovery work only started last week with contractors using an excavator to flatten out all the wheel ruts and remove the wood chip from site.  In addition to the excavator, the whole site was verti-drained to help it dry out.

“Unfortunately, there are now some large patches of exposed soil and some surface water so it may initially look worse than it did, this is from where the soil has been pressed back in place, but the recent heavy rain hasn’t helped with this. We do expect these areas to recover naturally as we get into spring.

“We have now started using the site again for football, having created 2 new temporary pitches at the opposite end of the park, while the original pitches recover. All paths across the park are open, having been cleared, by hand, immediately after the event by Preston City Council’s dedicated parks staff and the two play areas on site have remained open throughout.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and plan on doing further works early in the new year as we get into the growing season.”