Share this @internewscast.com
Concerned residents are calling for a ‘dress code’ and a ‘buffer zone’ as 340,000 Oasis fans are expected to inundate their neighborhood for five concerts scheduled later this month.
Locals residing near Heaton Park in Manchester are worried about public nudity, drunken antics, and fans relieving themselves in their gardens during the sold-out events.
The park’s neighbors say they’ve even been given temporary fencing to place in front of the houses to defend themselves from hoards of concert-goers.
The series of five Oasis concerts represents the band’s first performance in their hometown since 2009 and will take place just a week after the annual Parklife festival draws thousands of music enthusiasts to the 600-acre park.
Residents are concerned about drunken Oasis fans wearing âskimpyâ outfits, breaking into their gardens, going to the toilet in their driveways as well as problems with parking.
Mom of four Nosheen Usman, 46, has lived on Sheepfoot Lane, opposite the parkâs south entrance, for 35 years.
She says she thinks the local council should impose a dress code on revelers, with previous âParklifeâ attendees walking past her home wearing âliterally nothingâ.
Nosheen said: âTwo years ago, I donât know what the theme was, but they were literally wearing nothing.
âMy kids were 11, 12 years old, and we had to tell them not to go outside.
âThey were coming inside our driveway, they were taking pictures.
âThe whole street has kids, young girls, boys, and especially when theyâre drunk at night time half of them walk without shoes, running on the road, screaming, singing, doing whatever.
âOne of the girls tops broke while she was walking. It wasnât her fault, but she was completely naked on the road.
âMy kids were going âmom can I take the camera outside?â and I said âdonât even think about itâ.â
As well as dealing with drunken revelers, Nosheen said event parking rules have also been causing stress.
Strict enforcement, she says, meant the working mom missed a family wedding, as she knew sheâd be unable to drive back to her house in time for her retail shift the next day.
Nossheen added: âWeâve had parking tickets about 10 to 15 times, just me coming as I drop my kids off. Iâve got twins, I left my car here, came inside, went back out, ticket.
âAnother time, my husband came to drop me off, he pulled his car out, I went inside to drop my bag, and a police car told him to move or heâd get a ticket.â
Father of four Habib, 50, has lived on the road for 15 years.
He said he wants event organizers to start showing more respect towards residents.
The self-employed dad said: âThe disruption a lot of the families on here face is massive.
âThe majority of families along this stretch now are families with young children who are disrupted for the weekend.
âThis year I think it hasnât been taken into consideration.
âIt does look like the councils are more interested in making money rather than concentrating residents, listening to their concerns, because concerns of the residents on this stretch havenât been listened to.
âNo-oneâs been to see us, no-oneâs had a consultation with us.
âTo have another five dates with Oasis, which is going to be huge, I think itâs sad that the organizers did not consult or listen to the residents.â
He added: âYou get people chucking things into your garden, some people still will try to run into your garden.
“You get kids coming in to your garden, what they want to do we donât know.
âA lot of the problems we have on this stretch as residents during Parklife is more due to the staff they employ than punters nowadays, especially the parking wardens who give residents such as hard time
Ann Fullen, 84, has lived opposite the park for 43 years.
She says the street gets ânoisyâ during gigs.
However the OAP disagreed with calls for an enforced dress code â saying the outfits were part of the fun.
She said: âTheyâre lovely, short skirts â they do very well. Itâs funny to watch them roaming up and down this verge.
âLet them get on with it, theyâre not doing any harm â they seem to enjoy themselves with their short skirts and what have you.â
For the last few years, those living on Sheepfoot Lane have been given temporary gates to block drunken music fans from coming into their driveways.
A resident of the street for 38 years, retiree Jaroslaw Kopczyk said for most of the year he enjoys living close to the âbeautifulâ Heaton Park.
But Jaroslaw recalled an incident where two women came in to his neighborâs front garden to relieve themselves.
He said: âA couple of women came in and pulled their knickers down, and they were having a wee.
âThey were obviously very, very bold to do it there, on a fairly busy road so they could be seen. We could actually see them through the bedroom window!â
He added: âThey do give you fences to protect you, but thereâs not enough people, not enough wardens, to make sure that attendees to the events do what they have to do.
âOnce the eventâs finished they should be going home.
“There should be wardens here to make sure theyâre not sat on walls with a possibility of causing any damage anywhere. Thatâs probably the biggest concern.â
Mohamed Dilshad Mir, 73, has lived on the road for 37 years.
He said he was looking forward to the Oasis gigs, but he admitted it did cause âinconvenienceâ to local residents.
He said: âWe canât park â thatâs one of our cars parked on the road there, we wonât be able to park, we rely on our neighbors, weâve got very good neighbors who are very welcoming and our extra cars are parked on their drives.
âItâs a bit difficult because you canât get away.
“When Parklife was on we had a do in the Midlands, but we couldnât come back because they close the roads at 8.30, so we had to stay overnight at my sisterâs and come back the following afternoon.â
Stephen Golmbeck, a resident of 35 years, said: âItâs great, thereâs no problem, we know what it is.
âWhen thereâs concerts on, itâs gone better and better, itâs well organized. You get the gates, you have police walking up all the time.
âA lot of older people will moan, but everyoneâs young so let them enjoy themselves.â
âI think we should be given a free ticket on Sheepfoot Lane, 100%.
â[Noel and Liam] are what they are, but I do like the music.”
Manchester city councillor John Hacking said: “We have a tried and tested process in place to support the planning and delivery of major music events in Heaton Park, which draws on experience and lessons learnt from more than ten years of hosting Parklife there.
“This includes working closely with organizers, promoters, key agency partners and others to ensure robust tailored measures are in place across every aspect of the event – from travel and transport to and from, to ensuring a safe environment for those attending.
“We also hold regular discussions with local residents’ groups, and detailed plans are implemented to help reduce the impact of the concerts on the local community.
“In addition to this we will also have a dedicated community impact team working for the duration of the Oasis concerts – as we did over the Parklife weekend – monitoring and managing any concerns.”