Dog walker calls Lower Castle Park an 'eyesore'

An area of a historic park and garden is a muddy "eyesore" due to large events being held in the grounds, complains a dog walker.

Colchester Castle Park in Essex was gifted to the city more than 120 years ago, and the grounds are Grade II-listed. The park has two main areas, Lower and Upper Castle Park, which are divided by a Roman wall.

Louise Parkin, who has lived nearby for 27 years, said the lower part was an "absolute eyesore", particularly since an Oktoberfest was held at the weekend.

A Colchester City Council spokesperson said: "We have anticipated the need for renovation works this autumn and have planned accordingly to ensure the park remains in great condition following the event."

Mrs Parkin said she is currently unable to walk her dog, Murphy, in Lower Castle Park or meet up with her dog group there because of the mud churned up during the festival.

"I went past Castle Park and then into High Woods because it was too muddy for the dog in the park at the moment," added Mrs Parkin.

"It's just not very nice at all for the residents.

"Oktoberfest seems to have caused a problem last year that has never recovered."

This year's Oktoberfest was held on Friday and Saturday at Lower Castle Park.

Mrs Parkin said she understands the importance of holding big events as they bring money to the area.

But she said companies should outline how they would rectify any damage to the park and not leave it in a poor state.

"If they can't do that, then hold the event somewhere else," she said.

"It's just a bit sad really, the children can't play football on there, they can't play cricket or rounders, people can't walk their dogs.

"It's [the area] not going to get better now by next year.

"By the time it has almost recovered, they'll start all of the events again, and it's just like some sort of awful revolving door."

She said the fact the park was a gift to the city "you would think there would be some responsibility to keep it up to a certain standard".

A council spokesperson said: “Starting the week after Oktoberfest, we will be using a specialised machine to address an underlying issue where water is pooling due to a hard layer beneath the surface.

"The machine will blow compressed air into the ground, fracturing this hard layer and creating fissures that will improve drainage.

"Once this is complete, we will top-dress and level the surface."

The BBC has approached the Oktoberfest organisers for comment.

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