Dodgy taxis, shady ice cream vans and rammed streets: How Oasis' huge Heaton Park gigs will be handled
It’s 44 weeks until around 400,000 ticket holders will descend on Heaton Park for the Oasis reunion shows. Despite it being 10 months away, Bury Council has said planning has already started ahead of multitudes of fans arriving in the areas of Prestwich, Blackley and Whitefield to enjoy the biggest shows of the summer.
The brothers from Burnage will play five nights at the north Manchester park in a 10 day period between July 11 and July 20, 2025. A quirk of of council boundaries means the park itself is within the city of Manchester but the vast majority of surrounding road approaches and affected residents are in Bury.
Manchester, Bury and Rochdale councils, along with event organisers, park management and emergency services have already started holding regular meetings on issues such as resident access and parking, taxi licensing, street traders, public transport and access for health workers who need to make visits during the concert period. Speaking at a meeting of Bury Council on Wednesday, cabinet member Sandra Walmsley gave an insight into the level of planning needed to cope with the huge influx of music fans.
She said the fact that as the Parklife festival had been held at the park over recent years, the council has experience of the issues surrounding such large events. She said “Bury Council officers and ward councillors in Prestwich have held initial meetings with Heaton Park management to discuss mitigations for the concerts.
"They will continue on a monthly basis up to the shows. We will learn form previous Parklife festivals and other events there.
"Manchester City Council has shared planning arrangements for the venue from event organisers and that includes the community impact and engagement company that supports Parklife. They know the local businesses and residential communities who will be affected.
"A meeting will take place later this month with operations and community safety colleagues to discuss minimising impact in terms of resident access, public transport and how Manchester, Bury and Rochdale’s councils will work in a coordinated manner.
"There will be safety advisory meetings and sub groups for traffic and community impact. Council colleagues in Prestwich and north Manchester will work to minimise disruption to district nursing and social care provision during the time frame of the shows."
At previous concerts at the park, Bury Council officers have clamped down on unlicensed ‘front garden’ traders selling beer, cider and bottles of water to those attending the Parklife festival. In 2021, some enterprising neighbours applied for street vending licences to sell refreshments from their front gardens and driveways to the multitudes of revellers arriving at the park.
But others, primarily in the Scholes Lane and Sheepfoot Lane areas of Prestwich, who set up impromptu stalls without a licence, were ordered to close by enforcement officers. There has also been enforcement action on licensed taxis from out of the area dropping off fans at events.
Those who are not licensed to ply for trade in the borough who attempted to then pick up passengers were moved on. Other action was taken on street pedlars selling merchandise who did not hold a valid pedlar’s certificate.
Street traders, including ice cream vans, have also been shut down in the past for not having valid street trading consent for Bury. Similar action is expected by Bury Council around the Oasis shows.