You might have noticed a trail of sequins and glitter leading to Brockwell Park 2 weekends ago as a sparkling audience made their way to Brockwell Park for the Mighty Hoopla event on Saturday 8th June. Strong winds and showers could not dampen spirits and a wonderful event was had by all. Sunday and the first ever Cross the Tracks event was again a huge success.
However the challenge came on the Monday as the event was loading out and the rain arrived. Across the following 6 days as the production team de rigged stages and loaded out rain came and went. Needless to say there were a lot of wet and tired crew on site.
The production team worked long hours and with great care to minimize the impact of the event loading out. It is a real testament to them that despite 2 months of rain falling in 2 days during their load out they were able to manage the multiple contractors and vehicles to ensure minimal impact.
As anticipated the areas where the trackway were laid are the areas where reinstatement work is needed alongside 3 or 4 areas where during load the plant machinery and vehicles impacted. But no area was badly damaged.
The same day the event came off site, the Lambeth Landscapes team began the reinstatement work. They did isolated areas of chain harrowing to break the surface mud and lift the grass to encourage it to come back. They then worked across the site to level out areas by breaking up the tyre tracks and ridges. Then evening out with top soil. This took time as they did it all by hand rather than use machinery – thus being less invasive to the surrounding ground and the park users. Early next week they will vertidrain to help decompact areas and then once the grass is cut they will then disc seed the track way areas such as this to plant the grass seed. The coming hot and wet weather will see the germination and grass grow quickly.
Unfortunately a memorial bench was damaged. We have removed the bench and repaired the paved area underneath. The bench will be repaired and returned as soon as possible. The Herne Hill gate was also damaged. This was the toilet contractor who ignored 3 different stewards instructions. This is currently being quoted on for repairs. We are also working on a more robust plan to protect the gates during load in and out for all future events.
There is also a lovely surprise for anyone on the park this weekend – the new wild flower meadow is in bloom and it is stunning. Just down from the BMX track.
