Noel Gallagher at Wythenshawe Park: 'Anxiety' for neighbours as 25,000 set to descend on Manchester suburb

It is one of the biggest events to ever take place in Wythenshawe Park – and it could the first of many. Noel Gallagher’s huge homecoming gig on Saturday is set to bring some 25,000 fans to the south Manchester suburb.

Opening at 2pm, a full day of entertainment is planned at the historic park where the former Oasis star and his High Flying Birds band will be headlining. And if the gig is a success, organisers hope to stage some shows next year.

Excitement has been building as the 109-hectare park is preparing to host its first major music event – an idea first mooted some 10 years ago. But for some local residents, the prospect of thousands of people descending on their ‘little area’ for a massive concert taking place well within earshot is anxiety inducing.

Kirstie Massey lives in Rackhouse Road, around 600ft away from one of the entrances to the park which has now been closed off. Anxious about the gig, the 30-year-old says she will be going to Blackpool just ‘to get away from it’.

“It’s the lateness of the noise,” she explained, “I have anxiety against loud noises. We know we’re going to hear everything until 11 o’clock at night. Wythenshawe Park isn’t really designed for a concert like that. We’ve got schools near here, churches. It’s not like Manchester Arena or the Etihad.”

The Northern Moor resident claims she and her mother whom she lives with have not received any information about the event from the organisers or the local authority. However, other residents in the area confirm that they have.

According to Manchester council, promoter Live Nation and event organisers Engine Number 4 – the team behind Parklife Festival – have held meetings with residents since February and dropped letters to those living around the park. The council itself has informed residents of a parking permit zone which will be in place from Saturday, into the early hours on Sunday morning.

But some residents have not been satisfied with the standard of information that they have received, highlighting spelling and grammatical errors in letters and emails delivered to them. Elaine Oya, who lives near the park, says she is worried about the health and safety of gig-goers if such ‘shortcuts’ are taken.

“If they have such a cavalier attitude to publishing material containing massive amount [sic] of basic English writing skills, what else will they have a cavalier attitude towards,” her email to the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Another local resident who asked not to be named was less concerned about the quality of communication than the reality on the ground. This is not the first big event to take place at the park where bonfire nights were regularly held before the pandemic as well as a three-day family festival last summer.

But this resident, who relies on driving due to his limited mobility, says the area is ‘blighted’ by the ‘nightmare’ of nuisance parking every year. “The park isn’t equipped to handle this level and size of concert,” he wrote, “the infrastructure of the park isn’t equipped to handle this nor is [sic] the surrounding roads.”

Not everyone in the area is against the event though. Kate Parker, who lives in Hallas Grove, said some residents have ‘small minded nimby attitudes’. “The concert is an amazing investment into our park and our community,” she said.

“I live closer than most to the stage, and the contractors and crew have been brilliant during the set up phase. Obviously, I don’t know how security and crowd control will play out over the weekend, but I do hope that, whatever happens, it will be a learning experience, with lessons learned where things both do and don’t go according to plan.

“This is a brilliant opportunity for Wythenshawe Park to show itself off to [25,000-plus] people who may not have realised what a gem it is for our city,” she added. “I’m sure it’ll be just as good a setting as Hyde Park or Heaton Park.”

Kate, who has tickets to see Noel Gallagher, was hoping to be hearing Lewis Capaldi from the comfort of her own garden on Friday night, but the Scottish singer cancelled his entire tour after he struggled to perform at Glastonbury Festival in June. The following month a Manchester council report said the cancellation of this concert has ‘impacted on the delivery model’ of the live events at Wythenshawe Park for this year, but describes Noel’s gig as a ‘pilot’.

A Manchester council spokesperson said: “This is the first major music event to be held in Wythenshawe Park and the council is working closely with the event organiser to ensure it is a positive event for the city and to minimise disruption to local people. This has included setting up a focused Community Impact Team to manage any issues in the neighbourhoods closest to Wythenshawe Park.

“A lot of learning has been taken from other major events across the city to inform how this concert is managed. However, it is a much smaller prospect than previous music events in the city – limited to a single night, a fraction on previous audience numbers and a strict 11pm noise curfew.

“The promoter has engaged the local community through resident meetings since February and letters have been posted to residents living near the park in each of the Baguley, Brooklands and Northenden Wards. Further information has also been provided to residents living closest to the park advising them about parking suspensions and parking permit schemes for the coming weekend – in place to limit the impact on local people.

“Significant transport plans have also been put in place to manage arrival and exit of the audience and the Council will be monitoring the event closely and learning from this event will be used to improve the management of any similar future events in the city.”

The event’s organisers have been offered the opportunity to comment.