Complaints addressed as city park concerts return

Derby's flagship Darley Park Weekender kicks off on Friday with thousands of people expected to attend three days of live music.

The series of concerts is back following numerous complaints about long bar queues, heavy-handed security and sound problems at last year's events.

Council leader Nadine Peatfield apologised after some customers said they had a negative experience, but added the restrictions were part of recommendations by safety advisory groups.

A council spokesperson said they "fell short of expectations" in some areas last year and have "listened to feedback".

The weekend kicks off on Friday with 80s Mix Tape from 16:00 BST.

It will feature Bananarama, The Fizz - which includes members of the original Eurovision-winning group Bucks Fizz - Haircut 100, and Cassette Roulette.

BBC Radio 2's Gary Davies and 80s music experts will also be guiding the night with DJ sets - all hosted by BBC Radio Derby's breakfast presenter, Becky Measures.

On Saturday, 90s acts will be taking to the stage, with the event getting under way at 15:00.

Heather Small, the voice of M People, will be joined by boy bands East 17, 911 and Damage.

It will be hosted by BBC Radio Derby's mid-morning presenter, Ian Skye.

The weekend ends on Sunday with the popular Darley Park Concert, with classical music and fireworks. Gates open at 16:00 and the festivities begin from 18:00.

Sinfonia Viva, conducted by Timothy Redmond and with soloist Juliette Crosbie, will provide music with a movie soundtrack theme, featuring movies including ET, James Bond and Star Wars.

Robbie Kerr, head of culture, leisure and tourism at Derby City Council, said the "negativity" from last year "hurt the team" but added they had strived to make sure things would run more smoothly this year.

The previous year's event ran into problems when a generator and the wi-fi went down.

There were also complaints about slow security lanes, but extra ones will be open during peak times to keep delays to a minimum.

"We have more bars to deal with some of the bottlenecks we had on the Friday and Saturday nights," Mr Kerr said.

"We've got an extra generator in and boosted the wi-fi and got more serving points so we can get through those queues as quickly as possible.

"We've also really made improvements to the sound quality and we're going to improve our firework display to make sure it has the climax the event deserves.

"Anything that we can control, we have improved for this year."

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