Why diggers were on Victoria Park in Leicester this morning

People living or working near to Victoria Park might have noticed diggers there this morning. Builders were spotted surrounded by mounds of earth on the attraction's community field.

A spokesperson for Leicester City Council said work has started on the building of a new bandstand. The £125,000 project is expected to be complete by the summer, they added.

The new bandstand is to be built on the park more than 100 years after the original version was removed. There was a bandstand in the park until 1923 when it moved to the city's Abbey Park, said the council.

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The new octagonal bandstand will be made of black steel with gold detailing, and will have two rows of benches either side of the performance area. It is being built within the community field in the park, an area opposite the junction of Queens Road and Victoria Park Road, and is planned to become “a focus for future community activities and events”.

At the time of the application for planning permission for the bandstand, some concerns were raised about possible noise nuisance from the feature.. However, the planning officer who approved the application said they did not believe there would be “an unacceptable impact upon the amenity enjoyed by the occupiers of the nearest residential properties, nor indeed upon surrounding non-residential uses”.

A spokesperson for the city council told LeicestershireLive today: "Work is underway on the construction of a new bandstand on Victoria Park. The idea originated from the Friends of Victoria Park, now Friends of Clarendon Park, as a venue for events, as well as providing a new focal point within the community field area of the park.

"The new bandstand will cost around £125,000 and will be funded using Section 106 developer contributions linked to University of Leicester student accommodation development at Freemen’s Common. Work is expected to be complete by early summer." Section 106 contributions are payments developers agree to make to offset the impact of their projects on local communities.