SHERDLEY Park is now fully reopen to the public, 20 days after the Reminisce Festival took place. However, work is still being carried out at the cost of the organiser to fix grassed areas.
On Saturday, September 7 dance fans took to Sherdley Park to attend Reminisce, which saw more than 20,000 in attendance as giant tents were erected across large areas of green space.
The park was due to be made fully-accessible to the public again earlier this month, but event fencing remained in place as remedial works were delayed by wet weather.
This has now been removed, but residents have been left dismayed at the state of some of the grassed areas used during the festival.
The weeks that have followed the festival have witnessed particularly heavy spells of rain.
A number of readers have contacted the Star and shared photos of the muddied park.
In a statement, St Helens Borough Council spokesperson said: “Sherdley Park is now fully open following the recent Reminisce Festival.
"However, due to standing water as a result of heavy rainfall over the past few weeks, some grassed areas are currently inaccessible.
“As part of the contract to lease the land, the event organiser is responsible for the maintenance costs and is carrying out works to ensure the park returns to its condition, pre-event, with council officers monitoring the situation to ensure this happens.
"This may take a number of weeks, depending on weather conditions.
“We recognise the importance of all public parks and are committed to their upkeep, with Sherdley Park alone benefiting from council investment in the region of £350k-£400k for a number of projects, including a new skatepark and upgrades to the children’s play area – while work is being carried out to improve street lighting along key paths.”
The local authority has explained previously that use of the land generates more than £28,000 to support its parks and open spaces budget.
Organisers also had to make extra payments for each day they spent on site after the date it should have been handed back.
However, the loss of large parts of the park to the public for several weeks during the setting up and dismantling stages - along with the condition it has been left in - have left some park visitors aghast.
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