Bluedot has told day ticket holders not to travel to the festival today after the wet weather left areas of the site ‘unpassable’.
But the Sunday programme at the Cheshire festival – headlined by Grace Jones and the Annie Mac closing party – will continue as planned for those who have camped overnight at Jodrell Bank.
Organisers have said that the arena itself is muddy but will still function enough to not fully cancel the event.
However, day ticket car parks, pick-up and drop-off points, and entrances are impassable due to the standing water left by the week’s rains.
The team on site have tried everything from laying more than 1.5km of additional track mat and track way, 130 tonnes of sustainably sourced wood chip and brought multiple trucks on site to pump out standing water – to no avail.
They wrote in a statement shared this morning that they were ‘very sad we can not share this with people who were due to arrive today’.
Bluedot’s statement in full
It is with a heavy heart that we inform you we are unable to accommodate Sunday day ticket holders to bluedot festival today, Sunday 23rd July.
If you are a Sunday day ticketholder please do not travel to bluedot today.Weekend ticketholders currently at Jodrell Bank are unaffected; it has been determined that while muddy, the arena ground condition allows us to go ahead with our plans for today’s programme but only for people already here at the festival.
We’ve had an unprecedented amount of rainfall over the past 7 days that has seen the water level reach saturation point during the night, rendering our day ticket holder car park, pick-up and drop-off point and entrances impassable due to standing water.
We have worked hard this weekend and throughout last night, laying over 1.5km of additional track mat and track way, 130 tonnes of sustainably sourced wood chip and bringing multiple trucks on site to pump out standing water.
However despite our continued work throughout the weekend it has reached the point where it is not possible to accommodate further audience vehicles on site.
Refunds of day tickets will of course be issued. More information will be shared in the next 48 hours.
We have done everything within our power to accommodate people planning to come to bluedot on Sunday.
The bluedot vision is borne of a love of sharing extraordinary moments of wonder, exploration and celebration with our strong community and we were proud to be welcoming you today to something we hold very dear to our hearts.
We are very sad we can not share this with people who were due to arrive today. Thank you for your understanding.
Featured image: The Manc Group
News
More than 100 ‘unsafe’ counterfeit Labubus seized in Oldham
Daisy Jackson
More than 100 counterfeit Labubus and accessories have been seized in Oldham, the council has announced.
The Labubu dolls – a plush collectible with giant smiles and bunny ears – have been seized because they are fake, and unsafe.
The haul of 104 Labubus has been given a street value of between £800 and £1000 – but if they were the real deal, they’d be worth more than three times as much.
The poorly-made figures were being sold for a fraction of the price of a real Labubu, which are manufactured by Chinese company Pop Mart (it’s set to open its second Manchester store in the Trafford Centre next week).
Oldham Council’s Trading Standards team said it seized the counterfeit Labubus from local businesses and found that they were unsafe and poorly made.
Officers raised concerns about the safety of the dolls, which had small parts such as eyes, hands and feet broke off easily, creating a choking hazard.
What a genuine Labubu should look like. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
They were also missing legally required safety marks such as the CE or UKCA labels, and lacked the name and address of a UK supplier, which is another legal requirement.
Councillor Elaine Taylor, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Licensing, said: “Oldham Trading Standards carries out regular checks to help keep unsafe products off the shelves. In this case, these counterfeit toys failed safety standards and have now been removed from sale.
“We know it can be tempting to buy toys that look like a bargain, but parents need to be extra careful. Fake toys like these may be cheaper, but they can put children in real danger if they’re not made to strict safety standards.
“If anyone has concerns about toys they’ve purchased, or if they see unsafe products on sale locally, we’d encourage them to get in touch with Trading Standards through the Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.”
Council publishes list of central Manchester roads set to be resurfaced this summer
Emily Sergeant
A list of roads in Manchester that are set to be resurfaced before the summer is out has been published.
Manchester City Council recently asked residents in the region what their priorities were for their community and what issues they wanted to see tackled – and for many, the answer was the quality of the road surfaces.
Since then, the Council says it has been ‘engaged’ in a long-running programme of improvement works throughout the borough.
Now, with just over a month of the summer season left, it has been confirmed that some vital resurfacing works are due to start over the coming weeks in north and central Manchester, bringing a range of improvements to key district roads along with it.
First up, from Saturday 9 August, Hollinwood Avenue is to be resurfaced.
The Council has published a list of Manchester roads that are set to be resurfaced this summer / Credit: MJ Richardson (via Geograph)
Anticipated to take six weeks to complete, this work will be carried out during weekend closures from 8am-5pm, with the road remaining open during the working week.
The closure area will be between Greengates Roundabout and the Oldham boundary at Owler Lane, and a signed diversion route will be in place while work is carried out, and access for residents will be maintained at all times.
Then, starting from Saturday 16 August, resurfacing works will begin on Moss Lane East, between Alexandra Road and Princess Road.
Work will take place between 7am and 5pm on weekdays, and 8am and 5pm on weekends, and during the works, the road will be completely closed – with a signed diversion route in place and access for residents maintained.
As always, disruption is expected and the public is encouraged to plan ahead / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
These works are expected to take six weeks to complete, and as with all resurfacing projects, residents should expect some disruption and may need to plan ahead.
The Council is aiming to keep disruption to the public at a minimum, where possible.
“We know how important it is to our residents that key roads are well maintained, which is why were glad to be able to deliver this latest round of improvement works,” commented Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“I’d like to thank people ahead of time for their patience during the course of these works and would advise them to check when closures will be in place and where the diversions are.”
You can find more information on the resurfacing works on the Council website here.
Daisy Jackson -
23rd July 2023 
