Tramlines 2023: Everything we know about the major mud clean up operation at Hillsborough Park, Sheffield

Thousands of music lovers headed to the park for South Yorkshire’s biggest music festival, Tramlines, over the weekend, making the most of it despite the downpours, which meant additional mitigations were put in place before doors opened each day, following agreement between Tramlines organisers and the Sheffield Council’s health and safety staff.

Now officials say that due to the wet weather it is expected that some extra groundwork repairs will be needed at the park, and assessments will be carried out in the coming days and weeks to work out what has to be done.

Tramlines Festival ground crew are due to visit the park today, Monday, July 24, to begin to assess the condition of the site and what may be needed, but Sheffield Council says it may take a number of days to get an accurate picture, and once some of the site is cleared, a better assessment can be made.

Tramlines are working in partnership with the city council to ensure they can vacate the site safely and take the care that is needed in wet conditions. This is expected to take at least a week, but is likely to be slightly longer.

The intention is for the ‘crossing paths’ at the park to be open this week. Tramlines ground crew will begin carrying out the required groundwork repairs – which Tramlines pay for – from July 31.

Timm Cleasby, operations director of Tramlines, said: "We’d like to say a massive thank you to the people of Sheffield, the city council and especially the residents around Hillsborough Park for having us once again this year. Tramlines has grown into an incredible celebration of local, national and international music and culture and we’re delighted to play our part.

“We strive to meet the high expectations and needs of both festival goers and the community whose daily lives are affected by our use of the park. With the support of Sheffield City Council and the health and safety team, we planned for rain and brought in extensive extra measures to meet the challenging conditions and open safely all weekend.

“Our responsibility to return the park to its usual condition for the enjoyment of everyone is taken very seriously by our entire management team. We have already committed the resources necessary to achieve this as quickly as possible. We will be on site with contractors to begin planning the work required on Monday (July 24) and work will begin on Monday, July 31. We will update residents with more details in the coming days.”

Councillor Richard Williams, chairman of the council’s communities, parks and leisure committee, said: “Tramlines is a massive celebration of music – even more than that, it’s a chance to show off homegrown Sheffield talent and celebrate the vibrant scene we have here in this great city. I want to say a big thank you to the fans who attended – they came prepared, took their time and had smiles on their faces even in the rain. Tramlines makes a significant contribution each year to the Sheffield economy, and the fee from the festival goes directly into maintenance and improvements in the park.

“We’re proud to host Sheffield’s biggest party – including the Fringe – each year, and we work closely with Tramlines before, during and after the festival to ensure there are measures in place to respect the environment and to reduce the impact of the event on those who live in the area, many of whom attend the festival too.

“This year we were faced with unusually wet weather and additional steps were taken by the organisers ahead of the doors opening each day to ensure the event could continue and to mitigate damage at the park. Teams from Tramlines and the council were monitoring the conditions throughout the weekend.

“Due to the weather, we expect that additional groundwork repairs will be needed. Tramlines’ ground crew will be on site immediately after the festival to assess what works will be needed, and detail on that will be shared over the coming days and weeks. We will support them to get Hillsborough Park back to its usual high standards as swiftly as possible.”