Sheffield Tramlines: Organisers commit to restoring Hillsborough Park in wake of ankle-deep mud

A clean up operation to restore a Sheffield park in the wake of ‘mud baths’ left by Tramlines Festival’s partygoers will begin in a week.

Two days of near constant rain together with tens of thousands of revellers has left Hillsborough Park churned to bits today (July 24) with visitors saying they have “never seen so much mud”.

Festivalgoers have told The Star how the mud was ankle deep by the end of the weekend, with people losing shoes straight off their feet to the trench-like conditions.

Many residents are concerned the park will be out of commission for the summer, and are worried about who will pay to restore it.

One unhappy resident, Judith Toulson, wrote: “This isn’t a field, it’s a park, where disabled people go for recreation, children play, the elderly go for walks and peace and quiet, where people walk their dogs, now it’s been ruined. Time Tramlines took a hike to a field, and stopped using our park.”

However, opinion is split about whether any harm was done. Hundreds of videos and photos shared online show partygoers making the most of it during the festival by dancing and forming mid-crowd mudslides in the muck.

Attendee Heather Louise Hitchman wrote: “To be honest it was so nice to see the kids playing in the rain and mud having fun like old days and not stuck on a computer or TV. Good on them! Even I enjoyed my first Tramlines, can’t wait for next year.”

Timm Cleasby, operations director at Tramlines Festival, said: “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 July 31. We will update residents with more details in the coming days.

“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.

“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.”

Hillsborough Park remains closed today as the organisers dismantle the stage. It is not yet known when the fences will come down and residents will be allowed back in to the park to see the results for themselves.