Mixed reaction as Roundhay Festival gets under way

As a three-day festival gets under way at a Leeds park many residents and businesses have welcomed the event, but others say they will lose money and have been frustrated by a lack of communication.

A school has had to cancel a student trip and the owner of a hairdressers says he has lost £4,000 due to road closures because of the Roundhay Festival, which features acts such as Lewis Capaldi, Pitbull and Jason Derulo.

Communications from the organisers and city council have been criticised, with one primary school shutting at lunchtime because of closed roads.

But Friends of Roundhay Park said the festival organisers had pledged to tidy up the space and funded the rebuilding of the park's cricket steps.

The festival organisers and city council were contacted for comment by the BBC.

Katie Furlong, head teacher at Kerr Mackie Primary, said as the closures started at 11:00 BST, low attendance was expected and there should have been "more information" from organisers.

"We are measured on attendance and we're working really hard as a school to make sure we hit those national figures or better, but it will have an impact on our attendance," Furlong said.

She explained that the school would be closing at 12:45 BST on Friday rather than the usual 15:25 BST, which meant some working parents would be unable to pick up their children in the middle of the day.

The school had also been forced to postpone a planned Year One trip to RHS Garden Harlow Carr in Harrogate until September, despite many parents having already paid for the visit.

"We needed more information from the organisers and Leeds City Council. That's the part where we've been missed out," Furlong said.

"Other schools in the area have had lots of communication from the local council and the organisers, but we haven't had that, unfortunately."

Jon Kinsey, owner of Jon Kinsey Hairdressing, said the Roundhay Festival - which will have a capacity of 69,999 for the shows on Friday and Saturday - was great for the local community, but not so much for businesses in the area.

"I'm probably losing the best part of £4,000 of revenue and, in this climate, where it's hard for business with the increase in minimum wages, NIC [National Insurance Contributions], business rates going up, this is just another smack in the face to us," he said.

Kinsey said the salon's busiest days were Fridays and Saturdays, but this weekend most of his staff had taken time off and many clients had cancelled.

"I love supporting the community and being part of the community, but I think it's poor they're expecting us to put up with this," he said.

Jonathan Tighe, managing director of Oakwood Travel, also said that communication had been poor.

However, he added that he had taken extra bookings off the back of the event, with people wanting to leave the area to avoid the festival.

"The good thing is that business has improved. We've done four bookings this week for people who don't want to be here while the festival is on," he explained.

"So, going forward, if it is going to be an annual event, if we knew the dates more in advance we would be able to do more business."

But Tighe also said that while the event "certainly puts Leeds on the map", he wanted to know "why does it have to be three days?"

Jake Fischer, owner of the Cheesy Living Company on Roundhay Road, said he expected improved sales for the restaurant during the festival and was putting on a BBQ and pop-up bar for takeaway drinks.

"We're excited. It's good to have something different going on," he said.

"We'll have a different mix of people coming to the area and we'll see what it brings.

"I'm hoping it's going to be positive. I don't think it can be a negative unless anything drastically goes wrong.

"How often do we get an opportunity to have something this exciting going on? So, for me, bring it on - do it more often, do it every weekend."

Meanwhile, Sara Dawson, vice chair of the Friends of Roundhay Park, said the festival organisers had pledged to tidy up the space and had funded the rebuilding of the park's cricket steps.

"We're in a situation with Roundhay Park where we're almost in a managed decline, which is kind of sad to say," Dawson said.

"So any investment into the park is great, because it's investment the park really needs.

"It's three days of disruption - and we can all cope with that and a lot of people have been given free tickets.

"It's a real celebration of the park. It brings people to the park and I think that's a good thing."

Pitbull is set to perform later, along with Jason Derulo, Tinie Tempah, Lil Jon, Los Tucanes De Tijuana and Jazzie Martian.

The line-up supporting Lewis Capaldi on Saturday includes Conan Grey, Jessie Murph, Jacob Alon, Kerr Mercer, Nieve Ella, Ber and Maya Lane.

On Sunday, the Hallé Orchestra will perform what are described by organisers as "the greatest movie music and classic favourites", before an afterparty with DJ Yoda.

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