Repairs to broken Leazes Park plinths pushed back until 2025 as locals 'saddened' by delays
Bosses were accused of using Leazes Park as a 'cash cow' when it suffered damage during a music festival in May, and two broken pillars are still lying broken on the ground
by Daniel Holland · ChronicleLiveTwo broken stone plinths at the entrance to a Victorian park in Newcastle remain look set to remain unrepaired for months to come.
Locals were left devastated when the two pillars at the historic Leazes Park were damaged when the historic green space was used to stage the In The Park music festival this May. Bosses at Urban Green Newcastle (UGN), the charity which runs the city’s parks, were accused at the time of using the 151-year-old attraction as a “cash cow”, amid mounting frustration at the impact of major events on Newcastle’s oldest park.
And the plinths, which are believed to have been hit by vehicles driving through the gates to set up or dismantle the festival site, are still lying on the ground next to the entrance to the park off Richardson Road today – more than five months later. A spokesperson for the Friends of Leazes Park group told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they were “saddened and frustrated by the lack of progress”, adding to anger over the park losing its prestigious Green Flag status this year.
But UGN has now cautioned that the repairs will not start until 2025. A spokesperson for the trust added: “Work to repair the damaged entrance gate pier at Leazes Park was underway in May when sadly a second gate pier was damaged by the regular grass cutting contractors. An insurance claim to repair the second gate pier is being processed, and this has delayed repairs as both gate piers must be repaired at the same time to ensure consistency of stone and finish.”
The charity claimed that “all the other reparations work following the May bank holiday events in Leazes Park was completed swiftly and fully funded by the event organisers”, aside from damaged Victorian guttering which it says requires “specialist skills” to replace. It said: “Urban Green Newcastle is in conversation to get this work underway. Works to repair both the gate piers and guttering will be started in the new year.”
UGN’s future remains up in the air, with major doubt surrounding the state of its finances. The trust needed a £1 million cash injection from Newcastle City Council to balance its books this year and has predicted a £6.7 million shortfall up to 2029.
The local authority handed control of 33 parks and more than 60 allotments to UGN in 2019 on a 125-year lease, in the hope that it could access more funding and protect the green spaces better than the cash-strapped civic centre. But the council is now undertaking a review into whether the charity can continue operating or if the parks should be managed another way, for example with control returning to the council itself, with the findings of that probe now expected to be released in November.
A survey was launched last week by the city council, asking for residents’ views on the future of their parks and allotments. That questionnaire can be completed at letstalknewcastle.co.uk. Coun Abdul Samad, the council’s cabinet member responsible for leisure, claimed Newcastle’s parks were “among the best in the country and should be a source of great pride” but added that the authority must “make sure we have a viable model for the future management of these assets”.
Urban Green had previously said it aimed to secure Green Flag Awards for all 33 of Newcastle’s parks by 2026, but only two now hold that accolade – Exhibition Park and Jesmond Dene. Leazes Park was not entered for judging this year and Walker Park was unsuccessful, amid concerns about arson and anti-social behaviour.
Urban Green has been embroiled in a number of controversies since its inception, including a dispute with the council over the noise nuisance caused by large music festivals in Exhibition Park.
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