Capacity decision that would make Leeds' Roundhay Park one of UK’s biggest outdoor venues delayed

Members of Leeds City Council’s licensing committee discussed proposals to increase the capacity of the park from 19,000 to 69,999 for no more than two weekends of events.

The meeting, which had no objectors present, spoke about the plans that could see Roundhay become one of the UK’s biggest outdoor venues if a licence variation is granted.

They will now write to Leeds City Council - which holds the licence - within five days of their decision.

A representative for the applicant told the meeting: “There’s a lot of nostalgia for events at Roundhay Park.

“We’ve seen under social media notifications that people are excited about what might be coming back.

“We are mindful that this is within a close knit residential area and anything we need to do needs to balance that.”

The meeting heard that should the licence be successful there is an unnamed events promoter lined up that is keen to work on plans and their key area of focus would be “local community engagement”.

Four objections were received with key concerns including the impact of noise, traffic congestion, anti-social behaviour and litter management.

The meeting heard concerns from Coun Asghar Ali (Gipton and Harehills) about the challenges that could be posed with increasing capacity.

He said: “I remember Michael Jackson’s concert and going to it. The infrastructure hasn’t changed but people’s behaviour has changed and how they travel has also changed”.

The applicant told the meeting that a traffic management plan would be informed, if the bid was successful, by reviewing where tickets sold and then looking at how people would then travel to the site.

They added: “While the park hasn’t changed the way events are delivered has changed” including scrutiny through the Leeds Safety Advisory Group.

Committee chair Coun James Gibson (Cross Gates and Whinmoor) said it was important to ensure that none of the “eco-sensitive areas” of Roundhay Park were “encroached” to ensure the park was protected.

The committee said they would delay their decision and write to the applicant in five working days.

Capacity at the park was last raised temporarily in 2019 for Ed Sheeran shows.

In 1982, the Rolling Stones played there and the park has also hosted Genesis, Madonna, Michael Jackson and U2. Robbie Williams played two concerts there in 2006.

The park previously held a licence to host 79,999 people , but capacity was reduced in 2006 due to lack of demand.

Licensing documents said trained crowd management staff would be employed at events.